The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-08-29 00:00:00

THE RECENT COURTS MARTIAL

AT this dull season of the year, when it is diffi-
cult to excite public attention to anything more
serious than a boat-race, the recent courts martial
which have been held at Windsor have occurred
most opportunely, not only to afford a topic for
comment, but also to obtain that attention which
they deserve. Had the inquiry taken place at an
earlier period of the year, it is possible that it
might have given way to discussions about the
Reform Bill, or the proposals for new taxes to
carry on the war ; but, fortunately, the " gentle-
manly" conduct of the officers of the 46th Regi-
ment did not reach its culminating point until the
public had opportunity of leisure to listen to the
details, and we may now expect that the proceed-
ings will not have been taken in vain. It has
rarely been the case that so much unanimity of
opinion has been shown on any question in which
personal interests are involved ; for, almost without
an exception, the Press has joined in condemnation
of the prosecutor or persecutors of Lieut. PERRY,
and demanded a remedy for the abuses alleged in
a voice which cannot be mistaken. Nor is this the
sole result, for the exposures which have taken
place necessarily lead to the inquiry whether
similar practices are pursued by the officers of
other regiments, and though they may not form
the subjects for a court martial, it will be the duty
of the COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF to take such pre-
cautions as will effectually prevent their repetition.
Had the treatment of which Lieut. PERRY com-
plains been confined to the practical jokes of the
junior officers, the annoyance, however disagreeable,
might have been attributed to the exuberance of
animal spirits, which too often leads young men
to commit actions unbecoming the character of
officers and gentlemen. It appears, however,
that the evil is more deeply seated, and that the
treatment which this young man has experienced
is but part of a system by which miserable pre-
tenders to gentility seek to rid themselves of one
who has only his own exertions on which to depend.
There can be little doubt that the Colonel of the
regiment, if not an actual participator, was pas-
sively an accessory, by doing nothing to repress
such conduct; and the attempts made throughout
each trial to prevent the truth being elicited, not
only by the officers who were called as witnesses
and would recollect nothing, but by the official
Prosecutor and the DEPUTY JUDGE-ADVOCATE,
show a predetermination to sacrifice Lieut. PERRY
in order to screen the corps from the opprobrium
so richly merited. There is, moreover, the con-
viction that some change is necessary in order to
render proceedings by court-martial something
better than the mere mockeries of justice, which
they appear to be at present, and therefore it will
be some time at least before the military authori-
ties will be able to satisfy the public that justice
has been done. The exigencies of the war will not
be permitted as an excuse, though it has been
made a convenient handle for sending out of the
way those officers whose evidence was necessary
for the defence of the accused ; and perhaps it is
as well that the demands for active service afford
an opportunity to cover the disgrace in which so
many are involved, by finding them more useful
occupation against the common enemy. In the
meantime, justice demands that Lieut. PERRY
should not be made the victim of a vicious system
which the COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF would do well
to reform, or Parliament may take the matter into
its own hands, and: make military offenders ame-
nable to courts of justice.