The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-18
LAST BRITISH ARMY EXECUTION.
w. j. H., who Was an Eyewitness,
Tells of the Tragedy.
From the Chicago Chronicle.

From the Chicago Chronicle.
In last Sundays paper reference was
made to the last execution in the British
army for "disobedience of orders" re-
member that occurrence, which happened
in India, and was the outcome of the
transfer of the soldiers enlisted under the
late East India Company to the regular
queens service. in many cases against the
will of the soldiers so transferred.
The last shooting of a British soldier
was in 1861, at Malta, and of which the
writer was an eyewitness. Military dis
cipline was unnecessarily severe in Malta
at that period, the then governor being
strict martinez, man of foreign extrac-
ton, who, by some mysterious pull" had
risen to be a major general in the British
service. The summer of 1861 was unusual
ly hot, and the governor, Sir Gaspard lie
NJ, had caused much hardship to be
inflicted upon the soldiers of the garri-
son by his eccentric innovations.
Arduous duties were imposed upon the
men by unnecessary guard and fatigue
duties, men frequently mounting guard on
alternate days and large fatigue parties
were paraded daily at a. m. and p. m,
and employed hauling heavy Armstrong
guns from one end of the island to the
other and back again, there being no
earthly reason for these maneuvers ex-
cept to harass the men and Keep them i'm
necessarily al labor.
Numerous cases of insubordination oc-
Cured, and men Formerly good soldiers)
were driven to commit offenses 'subver-
sive to good order and military discipline
for the purpose of evading these extra
duties and obtaining, if possible (by being
sentenced to Imprisonment for term Of
four years or upward), a dishonora BILE
discharge from the army.
Jack E, soldier of the - brigade,
Royal Artillery, was one who became dis
gusted with his lot. One morning an off,
GER of artillery, crossing the barrack
square, heard a bullet whlz past him, and
Gunner E, who had fired the shot, was
at once put in irons in the guard room.
general court-martial was the result, ana
as the governor had previously notified
the possible presidents of court-martiai
that the next attack upon an officer must
be visited with the severest punishment
possible under the mutiny act code, Gun
ner E. was sentenced to be shot.
He asserted his innocence of the crime
OF attempted murder saying his object
was to get his discharge, and he pointed
to the gold cross guns on his arm, which
proved he was the best shot in his bril-
gade, and could have easily killed or
wounded the officer had such been his In
tcr4tion. Numerous appeals were made to
sentence. but, although the latter had a
short time previous reprieved two Maj
tese who had been condemned to death
for the murder of an English seaman he
remained obdurate in this case, under the
excuse that "the cause of discipline" de-
manded that serious example should he
made.
On the morning Of Dec. 20, 1861, the
whole OF the available troops in the island
were paraded in the square of old Fort
Ricasoh. The soldiers ammunition hac.
several days before. been collected. I'M
der pretense of changing it for a new pat
tern, and probably this was a prudent
step, for 1t was evident that the soldiers
were much excited, and the action or a
few turbulent spirits might have caused
a serious mutiny. Discipline and "esprit
du corps" prevailed, however, and the cor
Duct OF the troops was all that was de-
sired. -
After long, painful silence we were
startled by a beat of the muffled drum.
which announced the starting of the death
procession.F came the firing party
twelve men from the condemned mans
own regiment, then the coffin borne by the
artillerymen, and the next the pinioned
prisoner. by the side Of the chaplain Of the
garrison, reading the funeral service. The
condemned man was as meat" as new
PIN" and marched as erect and proud as
II on ordinary parade, apparently as cool
and collected as any one there Having
arrived at the top or open side of the
square, the procession was halted, and
the adjutant general read the proceedings
and sentence of the court-martial
To the credit of this officer, be Il said
that he delayed his part Of the proceedings
as much, as possible, occasionally turning
his eyes followed by hundreds Of others)
to the palace tower al Valletta, where II
was expected, and ardently wished. the
signal of reprieve would be hoisted before
the death signal was given The foreigner
general was not. however, inclined 10 ner-
cy, and poor Gunner E, kneeling on his
coffin, was sent into eternity, riddled with
bullets from the rifles Of his comrades.
During the remainder OF my military ana
civil career ] have never witnessed any
thing so affecting as the sad happenings
on that December morning. w. j.. II.