The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-10-16 00:00:00

SIR ROBERT WILSON AND THE INDEPEN.
PENCE OF THE BRITISH ARMY.

TO THE EDITOR, OF TILE STATESMAN.

LETTER 11.
Sig,--We are told, on the authority of Mr. Justice
prerogative of the Crown ex-
Blackstone, that "the
tends not to do any injury :" that " it is crested for
the benefit of the people, and therefore cannot be
exerted to their prejudice." These are vague ex-
pressions : they are just suca as suit men who wish to
have an ample arena for disputation. They are, in
short, the definition of a lawyer. But, if we are told
that the prerogative of the King does not extend to the
,lismissiun of any officer from the British Army, but
by the regular and known form of trial, conviction,
and sentence, the words convey a distinct idea, which
cannot be disputed. or misunderstood ; whereas, by
adopting the phrasello4y of the courtly Blackstone,
we at once lay open an interminable field for quibble,
dispute, and confusion, in the application of the words
is injury," " benefit," and " prejudice." In exposing
the injustice and illegality of the act of dis-
miising a British Officer from the service, without
a charge, without a hearing, it is surely not necessary,
nay, I apprehend it is not wise, to have recourse to
dicta of lawyers, which may always be counterpoised
by an equal number of dicta on the opposite side of
any question, whatever that question may be. Our
course is clearly pointed out by the most ordinary laws
of all well regulates! societies, and especially by the
fundamental principles of limited monarchy; for, if we
were to talk of the Dritieh Constitution, or monarchy,
we should be subjecting ourselves to endless cavils. I t
is no matter, whether Sir Robert Wilson was or was
not amenable to military law, a question on which the
advocates of despotism fastened, and endeavoured to re•
present as the real point at issue, in order to confound
ill sense of right and wrong. If this be a limited too-
rwchy, he was not, in any case, amenable to the mill
of the crown, or of its servants, which is the sole ques-
tion at issue. It is incumbent on those, who assert
that the King may dismiss at pleasure any ollicer of
the army, to skew by what law that prerogative is ac-
corded, or that the prerogative of the Crown is only
bounded by the Royal will. Aud if this were so, it
would be also incumbent on them to consider the cos-
serinenees of sod' a state of things, and immediately
to use their hest eltorts towards the abolition of such a
power. If the crown can dismiss Sir Robert Wilson,
er any other officer, from the service, without a trial,
he may dismiss them all, from the great Captain of
the age, down to the lowest drummer, inclusively. If
this were the case, would cot the British Army become
abject as well as degraded ? But they could not long
rein sin so without the people becoming degraded also:
they could nut long- remain "an exception to the people
in general, and the only state of servitude in the
nation." On the contrary, they would he used, whe-
ther willingly or unwillingly, to reduce the people
to the 811111 t state with themselves. I should think
the army and especially the officers, would be the
best to feel this degradation ; and that, if they can-
not themselves, acting as a deliberative body, Con-
stitutionally remonstrate against the violation of
their rights, they would not at least willingly be'
rustle the instruments of cutting down their fellow•
citizens, for taking their parts. Were it not fur the
constitutional obstacle to their acting as a delibera-
tive body, I should think the united service club
would .be the first to feel and to resent this ministe-
vial ksult and indignity to the whole profession in
the person of Sir Robert Wilson. At any rate, they
cannot, without great ingratitude, but be thankful to
the press awl ill the people fur so warmly espottei•tg thei r
rause. They may depend upon it, that, what has just
happened to Sir Robert Wilson, may be the lot of each
of them in succession, even the most servile ; or. if
the Ministry should, fruits a state of imbecility, get
raring mail, to whole regiments, brilfades, or divisions
at once. Nay, it is possible to conceive so general
and complete a fatuity, or corruption, as might lead
to the dissolution of the u hole army, leaving the coun-
try Open to conquest by the first powerful invader.
I should like to know whether, and how often, any
measure of this kind has been must ted to by any of
the despots of the continent. llow many officers did
Iluaaparte dismiss without a trial ?
A CITIZEN-SOLDIER.

SIR It ortr-...r WiLsos.—The following simple anec-
dote sheers in a forcible light, the opinion that was
inttertaine,l at Rouen, of Sir Robert Wilson's gallmit
conduct towards Lavalette. During Sir Robert's
confinement, Lady Wilson applied for a house
at Rouen. After going over it, and enquiring the
terms, Lady Wilson re:narked that they were higher
than she could alfotti to give. Iler conductor (a
Frenchman), taking the lady of the house aside, men-
tioned that it was the Lady of General Wilson, who
sired Lavalette's life that wanted the house. lame.
diatelv on this being communicated, the price was re-
duced to meet her Ladyship's views, and every atten-
tion and respect paid her Ladyship and family during
their residence at Roeun.

Cvotous CASE.—.-An affair of a very extraordinary
nature is about to come before the Court of Assize. A

V
Ir

Scotcinnan, named William Macdougal, who was pur-
sued fur uttering at Paris forged notes of the Bank of
Scotland, to the amount of 40,000 francs, fled to the
Netherlands, and took refuge in the B.lgic territory.
The French Government demanded and obtained that
he should be given up. Mactlougal was made prisoner
at Ghent, and conducted by regular reliefs of guards to
Paris. However, people were not a little surprised to
see the prisoner soon after his arrival in the capital,
obtain all at once his liberty, saying that be was guilty 1
of that single crime for which our Legislature has not
p►o►ided a punishment. The fact was that the person
who was brought to Paris was not the true William,
but his brother James Macdougal, who had conceived'
and executed the hardy project of setting his brother
at liberty on the journey, by dressing himself in clothes
similar to those which the prisoner wore. It appeared
he had followed the chaise in which his brother was,
en horseback, for some time, and it was at Courtray,
when the party stopped at a little inn, that he put him-
self in his place. James, therefore, was the person
that the Police of the Netherlands delivered to the
French geus d'armes on the frontier. This curious
Case, which, before discussing the accusation, it
will be necessary first to prove the prisoner's identity,
will be pleaded by M. Chair d'Estange.—(Peris
Paper.)