Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-04-16
OFFENDERS.
P~unishments They Underwent In
England In 0lden Days.
BRUTALITY WAS THE RULE.

One of the Mildest of the infections
Was Drumming the culprit Out of
Camp and This Mas Attended With
Branding and Humiliation.
In times happily gone by discipline
in the British army was maintained
by methods the majority of which-can
only be described as vindictive. tyran-
nical aud even brutal in severity. 1t
is doubtful If the savages of the dark
ages could nave conceived more re-
voting penalties than some which
were inflicted by courts martial. and
ever by commanding officers on their
own responsibility. in former times.
The voluntary sufferings of the
saints. the tortures of the religious or
ders of olden days. pale before the
cruelty involved in the various forms
of death penalty. the riding of the
wooden horse. picketing. running the
gantlet. branding and logging. 1t is
lmforting that these punishments
3e graGaally succumbed to the force
Of public opinion and the progress of
civilization.
Drumming out of the army-or trum-
peting. as 1t was called in the cavalry
and artillery-was of a different char
acter. 1t was vindictive. unnecessarily
so. but not brutal or even painful. 1t
was quaint IND at the present day
might almost have been considered
theatrical. The prisoner. handcuffed.
was brought from the guardroom to
the parade ground under escort. The
crime of which he had been found
guilty and the sentence of the court
martial. were read aloud by the adj
iutant. he was to be degraded, brand
ed as a bad character. discharged from
the service with ignominy and to suf-
fer a term of Imprisonment with hard
labor.
In the process of degradation the but
tons. braid, badges. facings and even
the medal which he had earned were
stripped from his tunic. Then came
the branding. There is nothing neces-
sarily degrading in branding. All re-
cruits in the Roman army, for instance.
were branded on final approval, but its
infection as a punishment is another
III AItOSClnCis AhA nOl 81 CoO1J W
Tended. 1t was apparently a custom
peculiar to the British army. During
the reign of George |. deserters were
''Stigmatized on the forehead At "a
later period in history they were brand
ed on the left side two inches below the
armpit. and later generally on the arm.
The tattooing was applied with a
brass instrument containing a series of
needle points. the punctures made BY
b d composition
-, india ink and wa
ter. ~ was administered by the drum
smajor under the supervision of the
medical officer in the presence Of the
regiment on parade, and. in justice to
the authorities. it must be admitted
that 1t was accomplished with as little
pain as possible.
Further than that there is little that
can be urged in its justification. Brand
ing was a relic of bad times and car
ried something revolving to humanity
along with it. Any indelible stigma or
brand of infamy is a fearful punish
ment. For one thing. the infection was
completely PERMISSIBLE. 1t could be re-
moved neither by repentance nor by
any subsequent period of good conduct.
To brand a soldier INT then discharge
him from the service, as in this case,
was to turn him adrift in the world
with greatly impaired means of earn
ing an honest livelihood.
Hunger frequently urges its victims
to follow dishonest courses. and what
else could be expected from a branded
and discharged soldier, precluded from
all honest means of future support? 1t
was a cowardly and vindietiye form of
!. punishment, since its infection could
neither promote the amendment of the
offender nor render him more subordi-
nate.
The last scene in the drama of drum
ming out Of the army was perhaps the
quaintest. The regiment being formed
in line, with a sufficient interval be-
tween the front and real ranks, the
prisoner was escorted down the ranks,
followed by the band playing b
was known as the "Rogue's March"
In this manner he was practically
turned out of barracks, the escort
finally marching him to the military
prison to undergo his sentence of hard
labor. In cases where a man was dis
charged with ignominy without impris-
onment. his exit from the barracks
was not infrequently accompanied by
a kick from the youngest drummer.
Formerly he was conducted by the
drummers of the regiment through
the streets of the camp or garrison,
with a halter round his neck and a
written label containing the particu-
lars of his crime. Chambers Journal.