Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1888-05-26 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

CABAL AGAINST AN ARMY OFFICER. The World states that the authorities have just given their decision on a military scandal which has been freely talked about throughout the service, being of a kind and magnitude happily rare. A certain light cavalry regiment having beconie very much disorgani ged owing to the worse than ineffi ciency of its colonel, an officer who was generally understood to possess the requisite qualifications was selected from another regiment and placed in command. To "wheel into line," as the saying is, a set of idle, wealthy, self-sufficient, and independent young men is a disagreeable task • but to the discharge of it the new colonel brought tact, temper, perfect courtesy, and unyielding firmness. Never was there a more perfect example of the hand of steel in the silken glove. The regiment steadily improved, was well noticed by the authorities, and had apparently settled down: but the officers, whose riot and disorganisation had been quietly checked and set right, had not sufficient manly pluck to see that the colonel had to discharge a disagreeable duty, and to allow that he had done so with as little unpleasantness as possible. They formed a cabal and conspiracy against him, and the adjutant—a young man who had been treated with the utmost kindness and consideration, almost as a younger brother, by his commanding officer—formulated certain charges against him, and sent them direct to the authorities. In these charges, which not merely affected the colonel's character as an officer and a gentleman, but plainly taxed him with dishonesty, the adjutant was to a certain extent supported by son,e of the other officers. The inquiry into all the circumstances hasbeen close and searching; and the decision of the Commander-in-Chief is, that not the slightest suspicion rests on the character of the colonel that reflects in any way upon him as an officer and a gentlemen. The treacherous adjutant and one of the captains have been at once transferred to a light cavalry regiment stationed in Ireland, and all the other officers taking part in the cabal have had their knuckles rapped, and are made to feel how worse than foolishly they have behaved.  Mr. Alfred Evans, a young solicitor, of Liverpool, ascended Snowdon, and safely descended by way of Pen-y-pas. Later in the day he startedto ascend Clonwyn Llywedd, and had climbed about 200 ft., when he missed his footing, and fell a distance of 150 ft. on to a ledge of rock. A terrible occurrence is reported from Hawarden. John Rogers, a man with one arm, to which a crook was attached, was holding a horse when the animal suddenly bolted. The crook became entangled in the reins, and the roan was dragged along at a terrific pace by the horse. Rogers sustained such severe injuries that he died almost immediately on being released.  Edward Johnston, a member of the Leeds police force, has been remanded on a charge of having murderously assaulted his wife. It was alleged that he bad sharpened a carving knife, with which he threatened to murder her, snd that he would have done so but for a neighbour going to her help, it was further alleged that he afterwards struck his wife on the head and knocked her down, hammering her on the face and head for fully five minutes.