IlipliP' liiiirl n p^^^^^^^^^^M Bought with the Income of the ALFRED B. PERKINS FUND COJL. SIR JOMJV E^^MER'S DEFENCE, &c. Nichols and Son, frinterSi Red Lion Paffage, Fleet Street. COLONEL SLR JOHN EAMEE'S DEFENCE ON THE COURT MARTIAL HELD ON CHARGES PREFERRED AGAINST HIM BY CAPTAIN WILLIAM AYRES, 8(V. S(c. TO WHICH ARE ADDED, THE CHARGES AT LENGTH; TOGETHER WITH THE SENTENCE, AN[> HIS MAJESTY'S DECISION THEREON. " ^nd where the offence is, let the great axe f ally Shakspeare. 1805, COURT MARTIAI.. The Most Noble Colonel Marquis of Salisbury, Prefident - - - - Col. Thomas Dyke - - Col. Garbett - Jjieut. Col. Allen Lieut. Col, Waterhouse Lieut. Col. Gibbon - - Lieut. Col. Disbrowe Lieut. Col. Campbell Major Wollaston - - Major Perrott - - - Major Lord Marsham t Major Cavendish - - Major Phillips - - - Major Berrington - Major Hon. John Talbot I Regiments of Militli|, Hertford, - West Kent. - Radnor. •^ R. Westminster. ' Surrey. - R. E. Middlesex, - King's ownStafFord. - Royal Perth. - West Suffolk. - Oxford. - West Kent. - Derby. - Northampton. - Hereford. - King's own StafFord^ 3 Judge Advocate General's Office, Downing Street, gth October, i8oj. 6IR, BEING informed that a Special Warrant is prepared for His Majesty's signature, appointing a General Court Martial for your trialj, upon several Charges preferred against you by Cap tain William Ayres, of the Royal East London Regiment of Militia ; I have, for the sake of dis patch, obtained a Copy of the several Articles, as therein recited, and transmit the same to you here with. As soon as the Warrant under the Sign Manual shall be transmitted to this Office, no time will be lost in convening the Court Martial : in the mean while, if there are any witnesses material for your defence, whom you wifh to be officially sum moned, you will be pleased to acquaint me with their IsFames and Address, J have the honor to be, SIR, Your most obedient, and most humble Servant, J. A. OLDHAM. Deputy Judge Advocate General, Colonel Sir JOHN EAMER, ejthe Royal East London Regiment ofMilitiot. COPY of the Charges preferred against Colonel Sir JOHN EAMER, of the Royal East London Regiment of Militia, by Captain WILLIAM AYRES, of the same Regiment. 1. " FOR gross and scandalous misrepresentations " of the conduct of Captain William Ayres to " Major General the Earl of Banbury, on 'the " morning of the aist of June, in the ArtiHery " Ground, and subsequently preferring the foltow- ?' ing false and unfounded charges, viz. " ' For unbecoming, insubordinate^ and un- *' officerlike conduct to his Colonel Sir Jt)HN •' Eamer, in the front of the battalion, while uiider " arms, in the Artillery Ground in London, on "Friday the 21st of June, 1805,' and thereby " acting in a manner unbecoming the character of " an Officer and a Gentleman." • -sr II. Article ist.'^" For cruelty and oppression, in " compelling the sick, indiscriminately, to attend " every parade of the regiment on the Artillery *' Ground in London, in the rear of their com- A 3 " panies " panies and the regiment, in the months of M^' ** and June, 1805 ; and detaining them on the *' damp ground, on or about the loth^ 15th, and *' aist erf June, 1805, to the injury of the service, ** and Francis Ejelly of the 4th Company ia ** particular." Article ad. — " In taking money for the discharge. *' of John Salter, of the 8th Company, on or about " the 15th of March, 1805, although the Surgeon ** had reported him unfit fcMT service on or about •' the same day, and in the months of September *• and October preceding." Article 3d.—" In- ordering, on the a4th of May^ •' 1805, in the Artillery Ground, London, John •' Elms, of the 3d CoBfipany, and Joel Johnstone,.. •* of the 4th company, to do dutyj although the '* Surgeon had reported them to him as unfit for ** service on that day ; and likewise had done so on *' or about the months of November, December, ** and February preceding.'* in. " For gross and ungcntlemanly language,, in *• various instances, to Ms- Officers, in the front of ** the men, thereby lesseiiifng their consequence^ *• highly injurious to the public service, and sub«- *' verslve of military discipline," ArticIa^' Article I St. — " In his address to Mr. Tupper, thfis *• Surgeon, in Hackney Fields, on the istof Jyly, '* 1805, in the following words, viz. — ' God damn ** you, I have a great mind to put you under arrest, •' — God damn you. Sir, you are so stupid I would *rnot trust you to do any thing for me on any ** account — you are ignorant and foolish'." Article 2d. — " In his address to Captain Ben-) " WELL in Greenwich Park, the 26th November, *' 1804, in the following words, viz.' — ' Damn you, •• hold your prating'." Article 3d, — " In his address to Lieutenan"]? *' RiGBY, in Hackney Fields, on or about nth *' July, i8o4j in the following words, viz. — ¦' God ** damn you, get out'," Article 4th. — " In his address to Captain Deans, ** in Butt Lane, Deptford, on or about January^, ** 1804, in the following words, m,— * Hold your « jaw'." Article^th, — *' In his address toCAPTAiN Turner, ** while on duty in His Majesty's dock yard, Dept- •' ford, on or about the 14th of January, 1804, in ** the following words, viz. — ' God damn you, I ** have a great mind to put you under arrest,' Cap- ** tain Turner wa^ at the time at the head , of his A^ "guard. 8 " guard, then under arms, and in the act of paying ** a proper cOmplitrtent to the Colonel." IV. " For insulting and ungentlemanly language *• addrefTed to Mr. Tupper, the Surgeon, in the *' Orderly Room in Bunhill Row, Moorfields, Lon- " don, on or about the 14th April, 1805, in the " following words, viz. — * I have a great mind to *' order you under an arrest : don't you think I ** know you ? I know^ what you are : a man so ** dependent on the regiment, with a wife and " family, with such a scanty pittance, not to in- ** gratiate yourself into the favor of the Colonel." " V. " For gross and ungentlemanly language, ad- *' dressed to Captain Walker, at the Green Matt, *' Blackheath, on or about the 4th August, 1804, in *' the following words, viz.—' God damn your soul, " God damn your soul, fetch me the orderly book'." VI. " For commuting the punishment, and taking ^* money for the discharge of Henry Chant, of the ** 4th Company, on or about the nth of June, *« 1805, while under sentence of a Court Martial." Vir. '* For a subversion of justice, in taking « money, on or about the 28th May, 1805, for " the discharge of Thomas Lamb, of the 8th Com- " pan^, atjeserter, and ordered for trial." VIIL «'For 9 VIII. *' For refufing to make a proper allowartcd *' to the men discharged in the months of May and "June, 1805, for cloathing due to them," IX. " For attesting men, in various instaixes, " between the periods of November 1804, and " July 1805, when the Surgeon had returned *' them unfit for service, to the injury of the public " service ; and particularly in the instances of — Article ist. — " John Jones, of the 6th Company, "attested the 28th December, 1804." Article 2d. — " James Martin, of the6thCQm- " pany, attested the 15th June, 1805," Article 3d. — " James Osboldston, of the 6th " Company, attested May 7, 1805." X. " For obtaining, as Colonel of the regiment, *' between the periods of May 1823, and June " 1805, large sums of public money firom the " Treafurer of His Majesty's Commiffioners of " Lieutenancy, which was ordered by them to be " invested in tiie hands, and under the controul, of " the Field Officers jointly, for public service ; and " afterwards refufing to account for the appropria- " tion thereof to the other Field Officers, thereby " acting highly unbecoming the character of an " Officer and a Gentleman." J A. O. n DEFENCE, ^c. My Lord and Gentlsmen, TO enter upon my defence against Charges, which are constructed to fix upon me the violation of the whole code of moral obliga tion as a Man, and to blast my reputation as A Soldier, must naturally claim my most serious at tention, and create a wakeful anxiety in my hearty placed, as I am, in the situation of a prisoner in a Court Martial, after having passed through life l^'ithout blemish on my character, either in th* social and domestic walks of private life, or in thd niore important discharge of the eminent and more conspicuous functions . of my public capacities of Sheriff, Magistrate, and Lord Mayor of London. The perfect consciousness of my integrity in the upright and zealous discharge of the Office of Colonel of the Royal East London Militia, as well as those to which I have alluded, has afforded me the most solid satisfaction during the whole of the evidence 12 evidence which y<)u havi heard, and which has been so industriously tortured to fix on your minds, be fore I could be heard, an impression of my guilf. I feel perfectly safe and satisfied that my honour ^nd unsullied name are to be in your' hands, not doubting but that upon the whole of the impartial investigation to which your attention has been so ably and patiently applied, they will remain with rne with double value from the ordeal, and prove how superior and invulnerable they ate, and have t>eeh, to attacks of so foul and malignant a nature. I shall haVe, Gentlemen, to trespass somewhat ori your titiie and attefltion in prefacing the more inl- mediate replies I fhall have to make to the charges themselves, by a short introdudfory account of the -legirnent under my comniand. When I was appointed Colonel of the regiment ifl April 1803, I was perfectly aware that it was not iA that state of discipline and subordination as was either equal to my opinion of what it ought to have been, or to the important situation it held in the scale of national defence. The officers, at th^t time, well knew that I was accounted a friend to discipline. I,soon discovered, that they absented themselves fromthe parades on every trifling occasion, frequently to the amount 13 amount of ten or twelve af a time ; appearing to consider themselves under no obligation to attend them, but as it should suit their convenience or avo^ cations. There seemed to be no distinction of rank attended to, or even respect for their commanding officer. Courtesy was a stranger to the regiment, particularly in the Adjutant ; some of the Officers had been in the Trained Bands (the prosecutor was pne) and had not forgotten that irregular and in efficient system. They either did not know, or did not regard, the notice of , the drum to take their posts, unless spoken to, for some time after I was thcif Colonel. The finances of the regiment were low, iand many debts owing to the tradesmen ; and men,. who had re-engaged, had received only part of their bounty : and there appeared to me to be mucl^ want of method and regularity. The Adjutant seemed to be invested with the compleat govern ment, and the officers to court his favour as their great director. Some of them had mad? their situji,-. tions perfect sinecures, although they were receiving the same pay as other officers of militia regiments^ whose duties required their daily and strict attend ance at a distance from thpir homes and cpnnec- Such 14 ' Such appeared to it\e to be the state of th'c rcgi^r ment when I had the honour to be appointed to itH command : the country at that time was menaced with an immediate invasion : the orders I received from government were so energetic, that I saw thd indispensible necessity of examining most minutely every department of the regiment, of new modelling tnuch of the interior system, and enforcing suboFr (dination agreeably to His Msyesty's regulations, as a ground-work of that efficiency, which I knew the country required from them, in common with the rest of His Majesty's regiments. • The task was arduous, but the necessity was im perious. I was prepared to expect incessant labour, to make large sacrifices of my time, of my comforts, of my interests in my line of commerce, of my rest, and even of my health, to effedt this change : I wa$ prepared to expect much discontent and strong op^ |)Osition ; but I was not prepared to expect that the ruin of my character, the destruction of my peace^ Und the blasting of my fair fame, were to be the ^rice of my duty so discharged, and were to be the ^nly gratifications that would satisfy the bitternes* pf their resentment, Iper-i 15 I persevered; and determined, by every posabte exertion, to bring the regiment to a state which would feflect honour on the City of London, re ward my zeal in the command, and essentially benefit the country at large. This mode of proceeding, new to them, created a general alarm ; every step I took was pregnant with difficulty, and surrounded by obstacles; and the most evident marks of a forming confederacy amdhg many of the officers manifested themselves in an uniform and general opposition to my proposals and views, and particularly in those departments^ from, whom my situation in the iegiment demanded the most direct and unequivocal assistance. Jealousies, if they did not occasion positive acts of disobedience, produced a careless, inactive, cold, and tardy execur tion of my orders, more especially /« my Adjjitant*. On the 28th of July, 1803, niy regiment wa^ first ordered on duty (after my appointment) to the care of the Dock-yard and Rope-yard atWoplwich^ and Dock- yard at Deptford. The duty was severe, considering our strength. Icpnsidered it expedient to direct a field officer tQ seside in Woolwich quarters, and that no officer- fjjpul^ be permitted to sleep out -of quarters -^wrv^ 16 special leave. This I understood was denominated tyranny by some of my officers, and particulariy by Captain Dears, who, so lately as within these three months, has said to me, in terms, that this was only a continuation of the tyranny of which they covcw plained. The field officer, witliout apprizing me pf his intention, sent in his resignation to the Hpnourable Court of Lieutenancy four days after Jlis arrival at Woolwich, which was accepted. Major Jennings, now my Lieutenant Colonel, informed me, that the sentry boxes in Woolwich Yard, as well as the Rope-yard, were inscribed in chalk — "Damnation to Sir John Eamer" — "Damn " Colonel Eamer." On this ipforipation I went vi\t\i him, and saw the fact as he described it. I expatiated on the eporpity of tjie crime to th? officers and men on the parade, and offered teii guineas reward for the discovery of the offender. This will go, I think, a considerable way to prove at least the acquiescence pf the officers in sq atrocious an act, since the writing on the sentry boxes, in open day, in a garrison, l^ad remained till I saw it ; whicli must have been some time after it was done, without the appearance ojf any ordets Jiaving been giv^n, or ipeasures taljien, to efface it. SoniQ 17 Some time after this I visited the main guard at Woolwich (it was a subaltern's guard), the command ing ofiicer. Ensign BeRti£, was absent, one Ser jeant, two Corporals, and sixteen men, vphich he did not account for to my satisfaction ; I therefore suspended him from regimental duty — he applied for a Court Martial, which produced the following letter from the Adjutant General ; COPY. Horse Guards, November i, i8o3< SiRi I Have received the Commander in Chief's directions to enclose a letter addressed to Ensign Bertie, which his Royal Highness requests you will deliver to that Officer. The letter is left unsealed for your previous perusal. I have the honor to be, ' SIR, Your most obedient humble Servant, (Signed) HARRY CALVERT, A. G. Colonel Sir John Eamer, East London Militia^ B COPY. IS COPY. H9fse Quards, ^t J^iFipveojiJjer, ,1803. 5JR, Jn coAS.equepce 9/ y,9,ijijr ]ig,t.tef of tlj^e a7th ;^ltim,o, tp Lieutenant ,CoLoprELDje Qg-Ey, Assistant Adjutant .Genetal pf tfce fjonjje P^sJ:ri.ct, your letter to that Of^er pf thp 1 2f )? wlfjfpo has been laid before the Commander in Chief; and I am commanded to e^pff ss hi? Royal Highness's re gret that you should be so very little sensible of your situation, and so little conversant with the rules of the service, as not to perceive that you have experienced excessive lenity from your Command ing Officer. You must be sensible, that without a prosecu tor comes forward to substantiate Charges against you, your request of being tried by a General Court Martial cannot be acceded to ; nor are you justified in continuing in arrest after you have been released from it by proper authority, as the Colonel of your regiment has signified that he has no wish to bring the circumstances of your miseonduet under the cognizance of a Court Martial. It is the Com mander in Chief's command, that you join your Company, 19 Cortipahy, and resume your diity : arid his Ro^al Highness trusts, that by a more diligent dischargje of it in future, you will prove, that from what has lately occurred, ybu have fotmed more just nptions of discipline than appear as yet to have influenced your conduct. This letter Will be delivered to you by the Com- tnan'dihg Officer cJf your regiment, foi: whose perusal it is purposely trarishiitted unsealed. lam, SIR, "^our otaedient Servant, (Signed) HARRY CALVERT, A. G. , Ensign Berfie, East Lhmn Militia. I read it publickly to him, and to the Officers, after having ordered him to his duty, in order that it might have an effect on the other Officers. Some little time after this, in the presence of Major Jennings, he was obliged to resign. And here perhaps it will not be unworthy of remark, that on his admission into another regiment, he was soon tried by a Court Martial, and Captain Ayres, the prosecutor of the present Charges, obtained leave, or was subpoenaed to speak to his character, and B z did 20 did assist him in his defence ; and wrote for hiitl this extraordinary letter : Head Quarters, Greenwich, Nov. zj, 1803*- Dear Sir, As I understand you have com- pleatly made up your mind to leave the regiment, I cannot suffer you to depart without expressing my regret, and likewise to acknowledge the obligations that l_laj^under to you, for the great attention paid to, and -the advantages I have received from the ability you have evinced in the management of my company, which I wholly committed to your care • for upwards of three years, so confident was I of your judgment and difcretion ; and from the cor rect manner you have ever done your duty in the regiment, I should conceive your seceding (had I the honor of commanding it) a great misfortune. I beg leave to say, that my highest regard and esteem will ever accompany you-, go where you may : I take pleasure in subscribing myself. Dear Sir, yours truly, (Signed) W. AYRES. Ensign Bertie, East London Militia. This 21 This letter was accompanied by six others from my regiment — Lieutenant-Colonel Jennings, Major Wilson, Captain Turner, Captain Fuller, Lieutenant Rigby, and Mr, Gregg : they are all published in his trial. Captain Ayres, in his letter, in terms, acknowledges that he had wholly committed the management of his company in my regiment for upwards o{ three years to his Ensign Bertie, which, I think, is no striking proof of his diligence as an Officer, or his want of practice in Courts Martial. My Lord, many of these circumstances may ap pear at first as not connected with the case before you ; but they are all parts of one great whole ; all links of that chain which connects and binds the proofs I shall bring before you, of a long, dark and settled determination to harrass my government of the regiment, and oblige me to quit the command : they are the concealed fibres of the extended root of the same baneful tree, whose branches only can be seen in the Charges openly preferred against me ; whose fruit is deadly, and under whose shade, if suffered to remain, every healthful plant must sicken and decay. t To %% Tp prpve this, I must prpye its prigin, and not Suffer a ligament to escape your qbseKvatipn, which, Ij^pvveyer hithertp, cpncealed, and hpwe-ver acci- ^eutally, dipcpvered, must be laid ppen to yout judgment, that my prpsecutors (fpr. thqre are mpre tjian one) may npt only not depart frpm tlus Court in a triumphant career of success; but may ultir Irately feel the weight pf that high authority, whiqh. Ijas established that the first duty of a sprier is to obey. Tp return then — much anxiety, and much, trouble it cost me, to prevail on Gentlemen of re spectability to be candidates for the vacant Lieute- nant-Cplpnelcy. I, cpuld in np instance succeedi so wide was. the idea spread pf the insubprdinatioq and disposition to cabal, in the regiment.. It came to my knowledge, by accident, th^ the late. Lieur tenant Colonel, who had so , hastily resigned on hi$ bei^g ordered to Woolwich, intended again to offer Hmself for the^ vacant situation. I considered ; he was one of the discpntented pai;ty with.whpmhehad been in constant society, particularly Captain. Ayres, Captain Gregg, and:others: with some exertion I succeeded, in prociuing the appointment for Major Jennings, now my Lieut enant-Cohndi who 23 whot had- profited by the- letter I found it necessary to send- him some time before,' to advise him td support ¦ his rank with mcJre propriety arid effect. C6pf of a; Letrer fVbfti'CoLdN^L Si f^ John EainSee: tcPMAjM jEfN'NlNiss-, dated roth Odt. 1863. My dear Major, From the recent circumstances that have taken place, you will allow me to offer a few remarks, which I think essential to the good government and discipline of the re^ment I have the honor to command ; and in the act of doing-so, you will readily believe that I have no other object in view than to procure that due distinction and obedience, ' which, relatively considered, are of the first importance to be preserved • between those who command and those who obey. It is to pjeserve that authority on your part, -as Major, that I am induced to make these remarks, being: an efficient Officer^ more immediately of con sequence to advance- and preserve the regularity, which, as Colonel, I wish to maintain. The conduct of Lieutenant Gregg, and afterwards of Lieu tenant Eirkman, towards you on duty, ap^ peared 24 peared to me to be an insult to your authority ; and I have doubts, whether I ought to have suffered you to have admitted those apologies, though the matter did not come regularly before me ; for every cir cumstance that • tends to weaken your authority, must be felt by me, and affect the subordination and discipline of the regiment. When Captain pf the Grenadiers, it was natural, and followed of course, that a general equality and familiarity should subsist between you and the rest of those whp cpmmanded, pr were attached to Com panies ; but in the office of such responsibility as Major, a certain portion of such freedom on their parts ought to cease, and a degree of deference and respect be substituted in its stead, more particularly while on duty. — I am well aware of the difficulty of the transition, but it is to be accomphshed by good management and steady determination on your part. I wish you to avoid all consultations as to points of duty or regulation with any but Field Officers, in case it is required. By doing this with steadiness, and giving out your orders with authority, you will perceive, in a very short time, that disposition will subside which at present seems to me to subsist among the Officers to regard you only as their senior 25 senior Officer, instead of the promoted important one of Major, in whom, and in whose spirited ex ertions, the due subordination of Officers, as well as men, must in great measure depend. I wish you much to profit by these hints, which I have thought it right to communicate to you in the friendly way of opinion and advice ; and have every reliance on your prudence and discretion to correct points, which, at present, seem to me to stand in the way pf Our perfection in discipline and subordination. I have the honor to be. Dear Major, &c, &c. (Signed) JOHN EAMER, Colonel. • The Majority thus becoming vacant. Captain Wilson, the senior Captain, declined it, on the score of incompetency \ which he acknowledged to Lieutenant-Colonel Jennings and myself; on this Captain Whitmore applied; and I had en couraged him to expect my support ; but Captain Wilson, on consulting his friends, found himself at once equal to the task ; conceived he could not look them in the face without the promotion, and^ begged 26 be^ed to have my suppprt. I endeavpured to cpn« vince him hisjfrj/ resolutipn was most corresct, but he. declared he would destroy himself if he did not succeed; and immediately set about a strong, can- vaffii , with the assistance of the. same party to oppose jfiCf as they called it-. At a consultation with Lieut^e:. JPAMTJ-Gpi.ONEt JeNNINOSj, CAPTAtIN-WHIT]«ORB consented to withdraw- his claam : L acquiesced,/ and Captain Wilson was appointed M^pr^ Frpn> thiS' momenti i8ih November 1-803, I perceived his animosity to me was deep, settled,, and uniform i and I will prove in evidence-- tp ypu, that shorriy after the time he was professing the most extrava gant regard to riie, as his Commander, he was secretly plotting my overthrow. I have Major Wilson's letter tp me frpm Hastings, dated the i& . of, July iSa^r ; an. extract, from: which' I will f£ad: ** My dear Cplpnel, " I am really, quite at a loss to express..how much I am vexed at being absent at the Inspection, of the regiment,., and that ypu should>) by, your great civility to me,, be deprived pf the attendance pf an Officer, being, by pther casual ties. 27 ties, so short of the cpmpleJlieiU:. I am not vaini enough to think the review would have been iBWck benefited by me ; but I can assure you,, you should then hawe had^ and: shall in future -ever have, my; best endeavour; and that is a but a very small re-- turn to make for the unremitted zeaJ, ands attrition you have given for the welfare of the regiment, andi t^e accpmmodation and comfort of the OffiCeirs^ ever since they have experienced your command'^. whose estimation lam perfectly convinced you will, ever possess, if they imbibe but. a. fractioaalipartrof my sentlmentSv" My df termination to have the duty wdl;aod?duly!i perfprmed, pccasipned many newv dectionsj 1^ Ofiicers being obliged ito .resign ; same who had- n'Ot attended their duty since the embodyingj of th«r; regiment ; spme for incurringdebts they cpuld not discharge ; some for irregularliiies i aad others .wh;* bad appeared tome to make only a jd-ea of sickoeaiv to avoid their daty. Tlia^ successive series of n^w app.ointmentsJ£(E|M5-ar party spirit constantly alive,; and the modei of i eledr- tion by Fallot, ma, large body not military, f^y-eiised their hostility to tkeic Colonel j at the head of wJiiiqJ* I found 28 I found Major Wilson constantly active in oppo-, sition, and ever slothful and careless to carry my wishes into effect : a Ipng established private friend ship /orgo//^«, and a malignant sneering hatred oc cupying Its place. ; Very sppn after this perlpd, the union became more compact, more daring, and more avowed; much increased oppositlpn was made tp my wishes, as tp candidates for promotion and election, and, at length, it was acknowledged by Major Wilson, that the determination was to '^ work me out if they " could." Of this I shall produce undeniable testi mony. Officers who had resigned attached them selves to the interest of the common hostility against me, and to this hour, in this very prosecution, join their aid and advice to effect my disgrace In the eyes of the world. ¦ When I reflect on the evidence that has al ready been before you, when I look at the pro secutors' table (I do not see them all there now) can I refrain from these observations ? My Lieu tenant-Colonel coming to my house. In the ple nitude of his friendship, to advise me to resign, to save a great deal of trouble, as he has expressed it ; but certainly with the addition, which he ha: denied, of alledging 20 alledging as a reason, the severity of the charges against me, and of others of which he would not in form me. The Major, in secret, apprizing the Serjeant Major, " we mean to work him out if we can, hut "this in confidence r My Adjutant sitting there In active and unwearied anxiety i as the chief assistant of my prosecutor, " whose valuable evidence," he says, " he has waved for the benefit of his more *' valuable assistance ;" lending himself to the sup port of a charge which he has expressly sworn he never authorized, directly or indirectly, and which he has expressly swprn he had forgotten, and with. the apology for which he was perfectly satisfied. Captain Gregg, who was the acting Adjutant of the detachment of my regiment at Woolwich, when the sentry boxes were inscribed with " Dam- " nation to the Cplonel." Lieutenant Hannam, who has within these two months been displaced from my regiment, by express order of his Majesty, for improper con duct. Will you wonder, my Lords, that I am so strongly impressed with the belief and conviction on my own mind, of a party existing to compass my ruin if possible ? ¦ ¦ In 30 In Deceiftiber 1&03, the regiiiiient was relifevdd istitti tshe Woolwi'cfe duty, arid we had only the tare *2if the Deptford Dock-yard. I then ordered a Q^tain's gu^rd, and that Ofiicers should not be permitted tt> bie out of quarters without special ka*re* This measurej as will instandy strike your conviction, was indispensible, since it had fre quently li^pMed in an efenmg^ that Officersj as well as men, were not to be founds it being so con tiguous to the Metrppdisi The insubordination of the regiment was very manifest at this time^ in the ease of GaptAii* Paget, who was marching a guard of near 100 mert to Camberwell : all the men except 12 had left him, and made the shortest way to Camberwell by a larifcj defying his authority* In January 1804, on our bdrig removed tO Loridon, I Goasidered every possible way by which- tlte discipline and order of the regiment might be improved ; I endeavoured to conSpleat the estjdjKsh- ment * ; I ordered the Officers that were sick to re sume * ag Jsitaity, j9&^i Orderly Bbok-, jpage 166. " The Cdonel miht^ ev^y individual in the rejitinerit will " use his best exertions to compleat its strength to the fill! cora- " plement. 31 «ume their duty; ordered ail sick men to be put into the hospital (I shall sfeew the order,) unles •a special case, stsU:ed in writing *. I oi?dered the Assistant Surgeon tp sleep in the ho^ital -f-, as a Surgepn cpuld seldpm pr ever be found : the effects of bad conduct and negligence every where arrested my nptice. Mr. Tupper, the Surgeon, did npt attend for three or four days together, and the in- *' plejneijt, there being now only jodefkientj and to obtainhonest ^' andrefpe^table young men to fillup thevacancies. Ten shillioga " and sixpence will be given to each bringer, if the volunteer Is " approved : arid be likewise requests they will use their best en- " deavours to detect those dastardly men who have deserted their " colours in the hour of duty, or for the purpose of defrauding " the public." * March 2 6j 1804, Orderly Book, fol. J12, "The Colonel has great pleasure in having been able to *' provide a comfortable hospital for the sick of the regiment } " and there being sufficient accommodation for all, he orders " that every man who has his name on the sick list reside in the. " hospital, unless in any very particular case, to le stated hy the " Surgeon in writing," f Orderly Book, fol. 321. April 9, 1804. " CoLONEi, Sir John Eamer orders the Assistant Surgeon to " reside and steep in the hospltat, there being good accommods- " tien for that purpose," spccting 32 specting surgeon seldom came to visit the hospital : persons were admitted to sleep there, and dreadfid depredations were made on the premises, and a de mand was brought against me of ^,1561. 135. id. Here Is the. Account. Sir John Eamer shewed the account to the Court. In July . X 804, we were marched from London to take the Woolwich duty : I continued to place a Field Officer there, considering the trust as of the first importance ; and directed Major Wilson to reside and sleep In barracks ; and this, I understand, was considered by him as a personal injustice, and of which he frequently spoke with acrimony *. On * It may not be improper here to state a circumstance which happened in the rope-yard in Oftober 1804. A violent affray took place between Mr. Wilmot, the Master of the rope-yard, and Lieutenant Rigby, of which Mr, W. afterwards com plained to me. 1 put the Lieutenant under a close arrest, and, upon his making a proper apology, I afterwards reprimanded and re^ leased him : but thinking at the same time that Major Wilsok was reprehensible, I wrote him the following letter, to which he never replied. I had intended to read it to the Court, bui it was by some means or other omitted. It will be the best evidence I can produce, what, at the time above alluded to, my 33 On our return to London in January 1805, k was hinted to me by Lieutenant Colonel Jen nings, my zeal was for the service, and for the honour of the regiment j and that I bore him no^ill-will, but merely exhorted him, as strongly as I was able, to a more diligent and faithful discharge of the trust committed to him ; vi%. My sear Major, The more I reflect upon the circum* stances that happened in the Dock-yardj between Lieutenant Rigby and Mr, Wiimot, the more I am convinced that, had it been brought to a public examination, it must have terminated unfavourably to the character and honour of the regiment. You, as well as myself^ would have have been involved in the dis grace ; for whatever may be the opinion of individual officers, 1 am clear that the constitution of the country has raised and supported the military, not only for its external defence, but to aid and co-operate with the civil power. You must be sen sible that the duty at Woolwich is of the utmost importance, and requires the strictest discipline and most rigid subordination. It becomes therefore an indispensible obligation on our part, to whose care such a charge is committed, to assist and support, to the utmost of our power, the principal officers of Government there, in the discharge of their functions, consistently with our duty ; and to contribute rather to their comfort and accom modation, than by obstinacy or perverseness to counteract, thwart, and perplex them. We ought to recollect that we have uni formly, on all occasions, received the handsome acknowledg- c mcnts, 34 NiNGS, that the Adjutant had said, he couM break me twenty times over, for oSences committed ; and that ments, attention and support from the Navy Board and them, I think the conduct of Mr. Rigby can only be forgiven on the melancholy reflection, that, when intoxicated, he is npt, him-- self. You may remember, that months ago, you gravely re ported to me you thought he was unfit to be entrusted with any serious duty, i have already hinted to you, and I cannoC refrain from expressing it in writing, that I thjnk you was to- blame, as ' refident Field Officer at Woolwich, to suffer any Officer on guard, and him in particular, to take winijbut in the most moderate way. It becomes an imperious duty on your part not only to set them a good example, but prevent, by your de cided authority, any apjjroaeh to intoxication, productive, as it ever must be, in a military" life, of every species of improper conduct. I am sure I need not here remark to you that the lives of our officers and men, as well as the extenfive property and revenues of the country, are in a great degree committed to your trust and discretion. L^t me entreat of you to be more cir cumspect and determined in future. The narrow jealousies of military and civil responsibility in that place ought not tcf weigh a moment in the scale of your decided resolution to pre- serve harmony and g^od order. I trust you will feel, from our long acquaintance, as well as a sense of duty, that I am en- tilled to your exertions arid support. And Iwre you will pardon me, if I observe, that I think you have not entered into my views for the preservation of discipline so much as I could have wished you \B tliat some of the Officers were collecting a large pile' of papers, containing Charges against me. Conscious in my own mind of correct and upright intention, which I repeatedly declared to the Lieutenant- Colonel, the Major, Captain Walker, the Adjutant, andCA'PTAiN Deans, the Paymaster, I rc^ tiuested if they knew, or thought, I was doing wrong, they would Inform me, that I might do right. They all stated, that " there was nothing wrong to their " knowledge."— ^1^0, the business was not ripe ! you to Irate dote. You' well know I have had some awk ward opposition to contend with ; and it was with ' pain I observed you at one time rather leaned to support it, though not so much of late, I must confess ; and I trust it will decrease every day. You cannot follow a better example tlian that of Lieutenant Colonel Jennings, who has my confidence and support. The attention of Field Officers agreeable to tlieir rank is indispensible for the good government of a regiment, Thougli you are constantly at your post, and regular at parade^ yet you do but little to advance the discipline or regulate the interior of the regiment. Your good sense, I am satisfied, will direct you to regard, in proper manner, this friendly admo nition on my part. I remain. Dear Major, 8tc. 8cc, (Signed) JOHN EAMER, Colonel, c 2 Much 36 Much discontent seemed to arise from another circumstance. I had frequently been applied to, with much eagerness, to sanction a mess ; but I declined it. They hinted, in this application, that they very much wished I would subscribe, out of the recruiting money, ^.loo a -year, towards an Officers Mess, This I did not think myself justified in complying with, which induced them to think, and express their opinion, that the controul of the money was not solely vested in me. With such variety of dissatisfaction and perpetual opposition did the regiment proceed, "harrassing me in every direction, and thwarting every proposal that pre sented itself to my wishes, for the benefit of the country and the honour of the City of London ; until the circumstance occurred of ordering Cap tain Ayres into the rear of the battalion, in which originated the complaint of the First Charge, and is the foundation why all the rest of them are brought forward at this time. My Lord and Gentlemen, it becpmes me here, tp make my warmest acknpwledgment tp the Court for the very patient and candid attention which they have given to me in this preparatory part of my Defence : it may be considered merely an exordium \9 37 to the substance of the reply which I am now about to enter upon, to the Charges preferred against me. The first thing that will naturally present itself to your minds, looking at the distant dates of the alledged crimes, is, what the motive could be, that could induce the prosecutor unblUshingly to bring them now before you. It is a difficult thing to ac count for the bias of the human heart, and to trace to their source the occult principles, if principles they can be called, which excite It to acts serving only to confound and surprize, where they intended to •convince : but Providence has wisely decreed, that in the closest, darkest-concerted schemes which malignity ever devised against the peace and hap piness of man, some avenue shall be so neglected, some plausibility so overstrained, some deformity so manifest, some contradiction so palpable, or some proof so clumsily supported, that the eye of dis- . passionate reason will be able instantly to detect the imposture, and penetrate th« inmost secrets that im pelled the base proceeding. I shall have but little difficulty in doing this. The motive of the prosecutor then could not be the honour of the regiment ; for my alledged frequent of fences there, according to the dates of his pwn state ment, 38 ment, are some of them more than eighteen months past, and his complaint of them silent till this period. It could not be the good of the service ; for that too, if he is to be believed, was suffering the whole pf that time, without his public virtue being called iftto action to punish it. His friendship for the Officers, and kind care for the Men, could not actuate him ; for he now tells you, that injury upon injury, abuse upon abuse, had been offered them, without his interference to redress them till now. The Charges cannot be said to be brought forward with the pure motive of redressing a personal wrongs or rectifying an error which might have escaped my notice ; else he would have confined it to \he. first Charge, in which alone he is at all concerned. No I not these, nor one of these is the pure sound spring that moves him ; but he stands forward the ostensible organ of all that mining malice which I have been describing to you, working its way in darkness till opportunity should favour their projects. It mat^ tcred not who was to be the champion ; but from the festering state of bis resentment, it gave a peculiar satisfaction to his mind to be the instrument. What was the pretended injury he had sustained ? — As his Commanding 59 Commanding Officer I had dared to tell him he did wrong, and to shew my displeasure by a public act of rebuke. This was sufficient for him to set the whole machinery in motion^ Though he was apprized from high authority, that, in so doing, " high as " the ground seemed to him" (as he has stated) " on " which he stood"—" he was building on a precipice *' and encamping on a mine," he persisted. Nothing could alky the tempest of his mind. He had been rebuked ; it was a nsw thing for him to be conirouled. He was to let his brother Officers know, that how ever they might be constrained to obey, his great mind was above the trammels of military authority ; and that his Colonel should not exercise It on him with impunity. '* He would either ruin me, or him-, " self. That he would not be twenty-four hours *' in the new district before he would prefer strong *' charges against me : if he could not have redress " from the Commander In Chief, he would apply to " the King at the Levee : if he did not succeed there, " he would apply to Parliament ; and If he failed " there, he woiild publifh the Charges and his " Grievances In every Newspaper in the King's " dominions. If the Charges themselves should *' fail, he would bring twenty mere, and twenty after " them;* 40 " them" and all this, accompanied by violent oaths^ he stated among the Officers on Blackheath. I think, by this time, my Lord, you will see; that the motive which actuated him is unquestion able. Of his principal and active coadjutors in this work of unprecedented wickedness, I shall have oc casion to speak as I proceed in the several stages of my reply, as well as to the manner in which those circumstances have been collected, and the base mans that have been resorted to, by anonymous calumniators to endeavour, assassin-like,' to plurige daggers into my peace, and overwhelm me and hiy family with dismay. And when I shew that these wicked means were In circulation at the time when the Charges were unknotvn to the world at large, from whom could they proceed, but the fabricators of the present charge ? The evidence is Internal, and can- rot be separated from the transaction then going on ; for every charge preferred against me is therein depicted * : — but my conscious rectitude triumphs over * This alludes to several infamous and horrid enclosures sent to *ne about the time the Charges were first forming, of caricatures, coloured drawings, arid songs, &c. which I laid before the Court, g»d which instantly excited a burst of general indignation, r. their 41 their secret designs, as the evidence already brought, and which 1 shall bring, will cover their overt acts with shame and confusion. My Lord, I proceed now to my reply to the First Charge. This representation of the offence of the prose cutor to his Colonel, made by me to the Right Honorable the Major General, was not in secret. It -was afterwards, as you have seen in evidence, com mitted to writing, and sent to the Adjutant General and Commander in Chief; and his conduct after his own statement of it, to Major General the Earl OF Banbury, appeared so unbecoming, insubordinate, and unofficerlike, that the Major General himself or dered him under arrest. The prosecutor has very properly exhibited this, as thefrst charge against me, because it is the only one which can at all attach to himself, and will shew without disguise the master-string that makes all the discord within him ; at the same time it will shew, that in order to give full effect to his resentment, he found it necessary to call to his aid every possible circumstance, that, in his idea, pr that pf his t p1 leagues, could be construed into an offence, whether relating to himself, to them, to the regiment, or not to ibt 42 the regiment ; well knowing the dangerous ground on which he stood, confiding to the single charge just mentioned, which would be likely to recoil upon himself ; and trusting, that the colourable mo tive oi general good would form something like an apology for so rash a step. The charge is, that I have made a. false and Jffl«- dalous misrepresentation of the prosecutor's conduct on the 2 1 St of June to the Major General, &c, I Btated what appeared to me to be the fact ; and I am still of opinion, that his conduct, on that day, was unbecoming, insubordinate, and unofficerlike. It has been proved that the Officers had been posted, that the Major was apprized of the intention of Captain Ayres to address me in the face of the battalion^ and that the Officers were requested to notice his conduct and what he should say. It has been proved^ that the Major was requested to fall them out for the pur pose, and the Major has acknowledged it was intended and known to be a public address: that CaptaiS Ayres spoke loud, that the parade might hear it i that Captain Ayres's manner was not the same as had been customary on private business, and that he never recollects an instance before of remonstrating with the Colonel on parade. The Major has told you, that 43 Jhaton Captain Ayres addressing me, I refused to hear him there, and proposed to hear what he had to say after parade ; that he persisted, and said, that if it was on any other business he should have no objection ; and kept on remonstrating, till I or dered him to go to his duty. It has been proved, that till I said, " I must put an end to this," and the drum beat, he diidtnotgo to his duty. The Major has admitted, that the Officers, " insensibly," as he has put it, drew nearer to me, and edged that way in consequence of curiosity ; although It has been proved, that the plan was previously settled for the Officers . to notice what he should say ; and that from the pro-? secutor's own testimony some of them had taken minutes. The Major has not denied, though he says he did not observe, the formal movement of the horse ; but admits there was some motion. Lieutenant Warmington admits that Cap tain Ayres said, that he had had a communica tion with Lord Banbury, which he repeated more than once. He heard distinctly what Captain Ayres had said; but remembers not what the Colonel said,, except, " Go to your duty. Sir," and " I will put a stop to this;" and that Captain Ayres obeyed the summons of the drnm. Captain 44 Captain Alstpne has stated, that the pro* secutot allowed in his own case before the Major General, that be had pressed upon the Colonel, being anxious to obtain a hearing ; and the impressipn made on Captain Alstpne's mind, was, frpm Cap tain Ayres's own admission, that Captain Atres did net fall in immediately. The Major General heard both sides of the case, and expressed his surprise that he had not been put under arrest before. I have never allowed the conduct of Captain Ayres on that occasion not to be improper; I have al lowed, that it was not disrespectful : but I contend It v/a.s unbecoming, insubordinate, and unofficerlike. I shall prove to you, my Lord, in addition to what you have already heard, that my representation of it was not false and scandalous, but that I have a reasonable foundation for such an accusation. Much stress has been laid upon its being most respectful — I have never denied the maimer to have been so ; but you are not now to be told, my Lord, that the most insulting and ungracious acts may be done in a respectful manner. His elevated tone of voice has been proved by the Major. The Lieutenant- Colonel has said, that he appeared to conduct him self 45 self with the most " studied respect-" and tlie pro secutor himself, to give weight to this, tells you, that he threw all the humility he was able intohis com position on that occasion. When, my Lord, you couple this with the notice given tp the Officers to observe his conduct to me, is it not fair to infer that, knowing the act itself to be dangerous, it was to be guarded, as much as possible, by the cautious man ner of doine it ? It is worthy of observation, that Captain. Ayres, in his examination, alledges as a reason for addres sing me on parade, that It was on account of his having received the letter from Lord Banbury only that morning in the orderly room, and had no opportunity of speaking to me ; but the whole of the evidence has already proved that he declined speaking in private when I desired him to do so, and chose the parade /or the purpose that the parade might hear. . I therefore assert it to he proved, by the evidence of Lord Banbury, Captain Alstons, and Major Wilson, that my representation of "im- " proper and unofficerlike" behaviour of Captain Ayres was strictly true and well founded: but I assert also, that Captain Ayres has proved the truth Viti^ justice of my representation to Lord Banbury more M more strongly than any of the preceding witnesses; I therefore submit to this honourable Court, whether' this charge may noty upon the prosecutor's owtf evidence, be considered malicious ? The second clause of his Charge is, that / sul>-' sequently *' preferred a charge against him for unbe-i *' coming, insubordinate, and unofficerlike conduct." My Lord, the Major General, in his evidence before you, has not attempted to deny that he pre ferred the charge. The Adjutant General's Letter will prove, that the Commander of the Lpndon District thought that the charges . would be with greater propriety ¦preferred by Colonel EaMer than Lord Banbury. This evidence e-npressly negatives the accusation, that / preferred the charge ; and states, from the same authority, that it was preferred by Lord Banbury, and not by me ; as / had not placed him under arrest, I did not wish to exercise what I did not feel, any resentment against him. I will not detain you longer on this charge,' but go immediately to the second: and here,' reaWj, Gentlemen, I am at a loss to say whether my asto- nisbment, pity, or indignation, is most predominant ; for the black atrocity of the attempt to fix upon me so foul a deed has been so insidiously conceived, so rapturously 47 fapturously cherished, and so secretly and sedulously pursued, as to be without a parallel in the History of Crimes which have deformed and disgraced the human heart, since corruption first assailed it. It is, as it should seemj to a particular act of Pro* vidence that I am to be alone thankful, for the sa tisfaction of being enabled to give the full and com plete exposure of this diabolical contrivance, which was designed to diffuse, by eager anticipation through every sphere of society, a deep and indelible im pression of guilt, imputable to me, in the Injury done by my orders to the health of those placed under my command : but I shall be able to lay bare to your investigation and conviction the flimsy web, however dark and mysterious it may now appear, that has been industriously spun to conceal the case, as it is in honesty and truth. I shall be able to ex hibit, to your astonishment, that the Surgeon, Mr. Tupper, v/ho ha.s furnished this accusation, and by whom alone the prosecutor must have been supplied with every information and evidence, was actuated by the sajiie motive, personal resentment; as you will easily gather from the dates of- two articles of the subsequent charges, April and July, when 1 had particular occasion to express my severe displeasure to 48 tP him fpr neglect and disobedience of my orders : hs has united himself tp this monstrous combination to sully and tarnish my gppd name, and rpb me of every thing that can be dear and valuable to man. This man, in the exercise of his professional duty, thpugh npw ppinting at this case with such invete-^ rate acrimpny, had never, till after the prpsecQtor of the charges expressed himself aggrieved, made known the effects pf this pretended cruelty and oppression in me, which, in the after examination, I shall prove to you, will fix themselves completely and solely on him self. Re illy has been stated by both Surgeons to be in a convalescent state j that he had been ill only ten or twelve days previous to the loth of June, I shall prove that he had been /// for a considerable time ; that Lieutenant Harrison, theAssIstantSurgeon, had declared, that previous to this time he had tubercles formed on his lungs, and that it was not in the power of medicine to save him ; that he might linger some time, but that his dissolution could only be attributed to the matter formed on his lungs. How then could this patient be said to be in a convalescent state on the loth of June, and fit to attend parade I Why was he not in the hospital? I beg 49 I beg to read the Order which has not been at-^ tended to before, dated a6th March 1804: " The *' Colonel has great pleasure in having been able to " provide a comfortable Hospital for the sick of the " regiment ; and there being sufficient room and " accommodation for all^ he orders that e%>ery man " who has his name on the sick list reside in the *' hospital, unless in any very particular ease to be *' stated by the Surgeon in writing." Why was he not in the hospital? Why^ when the Assistant Sur geon saw him there after the parade, wet through his shirt as he has told you, why was he not then or dered by this very Surgeon, who has described his case to be so desperate before that period. Into a warm bed in the hospital on that wet morning, instead of sending him with a direction to do so when he got home? We find Mr. Tupper carefully informing the Lieutenant Colonel, that he intended bringing charges against me for personal wrong to himself, and that, by my tyrannical conduct, I should oc casion the death of a soldier. He has not dared to say sp mtich uppN his path. here. He well knpws it rests only with himself : for he has acknow ledged, that he never received a reprimand or dis- s couragement 50 couragement ifrbtti me for excusing Reilly fl*om parade, and never knew an instance of a man Who was ordered hot to attend parade, or when the Surgeon had given him leave to be absent. Who was ever punished for not attending, or ordered to iittend: and that Reilly was on the sick lls't previous % the ioth of June. Never till these charges were fir^t seen by ^ me did I know, or could the supposed to how, there was such a man as Francis Reilly sick ; such 'a man is not named in ariy of the sick riports before nor iifice, till the special one which I required on the 15th of August last. How then do 1 fland accused in this particular case ? by whom ? by the StirgCok "who kept no minute of his case, who had never reported him sick from his first having the cdre of him-in February last till the "Surgeons furnifhifig him with his allowance of fttm in the last stage of adecBne "iA their own expence, and introducing the Inspector df Army Hospitals by surprize to a.' private lodging when 'lie came to visit the hoipiial, invited to it by ah 7«- sidiotis compMnt in a letter sent for that iiurpose h lllin, and there secretly instructed'what questl&n % 'pitt to this patient, who it willappear made bne&hswtr in 51 in the Surgeon's presence, and another when left td himstifi but the enormity of this will be more fla grant in evidence than recital. It was subsequent to the period when Captain Ayres, the Prosecutor, had incurred my displea sure, that every movement was made by Mr. Tupper the Surgeon, We then find him active \n collecting materials for the support of this and some ftM'owing^ ckax^s : about the same rime his ownper- f(mal ptques were new and powerful. With every neglect of duty chargeable vpon himself he artfully 'tfndeavouaped to criminate his Colonel-, he sought 'every means in his power to establish his opinion by suret^v'\d.er\(x.mnkncmn to me-, he artfully sent a letter oi complaint to Mr. Keate, the date of which you will be particularly attentive to, as well as^o the^ases^o which, lie calls his attention. On -our ch'Snging ijurarters, by .removal to Greenwich, ^e'lnunes the -xme of Enancis ~ Reilly with, peculiar i^eal : he ¦'C^Us 4n a -Dr. CABRNA»v;AN.to hear this fabifieated tale ^fwithmtt ^my tknowlsdge, andito.attend »h4m, sitfsteadtof his sending to^the Army ^Medicdl ¦fBoaiSl, :a!isfterwards he ^.writes tp the Jnspeeting "^^pn pf 'the Distriet, still -unknown to me ; ¦snA ^tbetfttSpgctinfg ^uifgeBn will attend :to -give iftiVL-his V z testimony 52 testimpny pn the whple pf this extraordinary and dark accusation, as well as the uniform r^glect, and rf- prehensible conduct of the Surgeon, whp has, dared to generate so gigantic and monstrous an insinuation, at the peril of his own character and situation, as well as his future prospect in life ; because, to use his own words, it was tod late to recede, and that he must stand by his friends. To such an unqualified confession of cpnfederated malice has he certainly, thpugh perhaps unguardedly, committed himself, as I shall prove in evidence. It may be proper now to refer to the order of the 29th of March, 1805, which has excited this; " that THE Sick in Quarters should parade in *' the" rear of their Companies regimentally dressed " without gaiters." I have before told you, tliat no reports were made to me of those that were sick in quarters, nor do I believe that any were kept : but the numbers I knew, and which frequently amounted to between thirty sxid forty. It is matter of infinite satisfaction to me, that what I am staring is to Soldiers of high au thority, who' are well acquainted with the difficulty of enforcing a strict attendance to' duty. I had re peated reason to be dissatisfied with the Surgeon as to 53 to the nature of his account of those I enquired after, who were absent from parade, officers as well as men -, I thought it my duty to parade the sick in quarters in the rear of the Regiment, and that I should be able to ascertain whether their sickness was real or pretended. The accusation of detaining the sick on damp ground Is wicked and calumnious, and as foreign from the fact (my orders being meant only for such as were able), as the idea would be from a mind calling itself human. If it was unfit for this Francis Reilly to be exposed to the damp air in June, in conformity to the order of the book of March, how came it to pass, that he remained in quarters when the Surgeon well knew that such an order was there, and was to be obeyed ; and that he had it in his power to prevent such as were not fit, by placing them in the hospital, to which the order did not extend? If, therefore, any injury was the consequence to this or any other patient, the re sponsibility is with the Surgeon, not with the Colonel. This appears to me to be as clear as day-light I The second Article of this Charge is for taking money of John Salter, of the eighth company. John Salter was in a weakly state, and, by the advice of his friends, solicited for a discharge, on paying 54 paying for a substitute ; this was agreed to, I never l^eard of the Surgeon's report in thfj case. His complaint was in the chest ; and I twice gave hina furloughs that he might be benefited, by residing in the country, it being the wish of his friends that he should do so. I shall produce him to this Court, and he will state to you, that, so far from the- Surgeon having repprted him u^fi for service^ he ppsitively declared him ft tp do his duty at the^ timt of his discharge, and that in the presence of his^, wife. The third article pf this Charge is for ^ordering Joel Johnstone, of the 4th Cpmpany, tp dp duty,. It has. been fairly stated tP this Cpunt, by the Captain pf his Company, that Serjeant Orson was deputed to cotnplain from his Comrades of -his being excused. from duty while he was able to work els£-^ v/here ; and, in consequence of this, I ordered hi,pi,. to do his duty: but, on the same evidence, it ap-. pears alsp, that he never did duty- after that cf<%t which was 24th May, and that waf a dt^ qf mmtm only. The Third Charge is fpr gross and ungentlemanly language to the Officers in front of the men. The 55 The frst article of this charge, relating to Mr. Tupper, the Surgeon, has been recently before Major General the Earl of Banbury, and the Right Honorable the Earl of Harring ton, whp dismissecl the subject. The other Articles which constitute this Charge, are pf Sp distant a date, that I am not able to call them to my meniory ; but the whole of them, I am satisfied, if they really did pass, must have been Sjidden anc^ occasional sallies of displeasure ; perhaps unguardedly expressed in moments of wilful negli gence ancjl inattention to duty on their parts : all of them, except the first, are stated to have passed in the year 1804. The evidence on the whple of these charges is so contracjictory as to the expressions, that it is impossible almost to know where to fix.them. ^s to the instance of Mr. Tupper, the vyords, if really spoken, are proved by Mr. Tupper to have been spoken at the distance of for^ty or fifty yafds from the men -, and that he was called to that distance by me, which seems to be for the very pur pose oi privacy, rather than publicity ; and Major ^^ilson, who does not want zeal agaimt me, ex pressly swfars, he believes the men could not hear it ; and to establish this fact, If It is necessarjs, / 50 fan prove, that the men were dispersed, and their- arms piled. On the second article, respecting Captain Ben- well, the Captain himself declares that I made use of no oath in my address to him ; and therefore, even if this ^harge were important enough to be seriously adverted to, It Is npt proved in evidence as alledged. As to the words alledged to have been used to Lieutenant Rigby, they stand upon a recollection ^eleven months date, whether they were " get out^^ pr " get out of the way.'^ With respect to the words said to be addressed to Captain Deans, it must appear somewhat extraor? dinary that Captain Deans, whp states that address to him tp have been conceived in such gross and in sulting terms, as not only to have made the strongest impression upon his mind at the time^ but alsp that he made minutes of it himself, and desired others to dp so; yet all that he can recollect are the ridiculous, words vvhich this article supposes me to have used ; and as to the words themselves, the other witness, the Serjeant^ who was called tQ support this articlcjj says, they were, " no reply, hold your tongue," or " hold your jaw," for he was not certain which ; and this charge is sp stale as sixteen months ago. With 57 With respect to the words I am supposed to have used to Captain Turner in January 1804, I have no recollection of having used them ; and Captain Cole expresses himself in doubt, whether the words were—" Damn it," or " Damn you." As to the Fourth Charge, I appeal to the substan tial part of CaptainBenvvell's evidence, whether it does not prove, according to my statement of it, that the language used to Mr. Tupper was that of remonstrance and exhortation to discharge his duty in ^ way more likely to serve himself and his family, and not that of reproach for the circumstances either of the one or the ether. As to the Fifth Charge, the' Court are in posses sion of all the circumstances under which it was brought forward ; and there I shall leave it. It will not become me to attempt to justify, in cool moments of reflection, those hasty expressions which you have heard described ; but I will appeal to every Commanding Officer who hears me, whe ther in the zealous exercising of a battalion, cir cumstances, in the best-regulated regiments, may not arise, which almost render it impossible for the Commander to be so cool and wary, as not occa- giojially to be surprized intP an undue warmth pf speech, 58 speech. Hpwmany Coiiirnanding Qfiieers pf rsgi- ments, I rjiigl^t say, how many Generals, vvq^ld be ffee frqrn charges pf this nature being preferred agjijn^t. them? if a system like t^is wfas established by Officers, of jpurnalizing eveqts, and, tal^Iqg nijnutps pf wprds ; of recprdipg acts pf discipline to ^e broiight forward at spme distapt favourable se^spn, as future st.qres for retaliatiop v^'lj,en^tjnie s^ojijd ^uit with their resentment ? B^t another importapt point must naturally, pre sent itself tp your inquiry. What has the Prpse- eittor to do with tho$e charges ? ho'iv ca/iie he by them? and at whose request were they brpught forward ? fof what purpose were the dates apd the ^grfls eonmitt/sd.te wfititig, and sif accurately storef^? Will nPt tlie very act itself of embodying, their gf^ey^^s with his, tp be brought against me ^y him nop, prove beyond a dpubt what I hayc l^Jfpreasserted, that a confederacy had been deeply;- es^ffted, regularly proceeded pn, and uniformly per- yst^d inj, tP this ve^y moment ? The sixth charge is respecting H;enry Cha,n,t : he w.as a nptpripus and ^n Incorrigible offender, ii\ore frequently In tjie Guard House than on pa rade, had been severely punished ^ij^e or fpur. times, 59 tirijies, and his constitution not abje tp jtjear repeatect punishments : notliing could be made of hipi : hif friends made an offer to procure a substitute, and,. on consultaripn with the Officers present, it was thought most fpr the interest of the Service and good pf the Regiment tP give him his discharge, qi? the cpndition of hl^ paying 5/. to find a substitute. I have the entry in my a^ccousnt : " Chant, for his " discharge, to find a substitute, 5A" The evidence that has been given pn this Ch^rg^ fixes pn C APT AJN Walker, that he apprpved pf this measure, in my presence; and said *' he w^ a " very bad fellpw :" but w,e find, pn leaving the house with Captain Deans the Paymaster, they, had m^ch conversation in their way home, as to the i?Kpro/ir/V/y of .the measure; which had never been expressed tp me before they left the i^ouse, tkfc^h the enquiry was put to them as to th^ir opinion. This wa^ about the 24^^ of June, VKhic;h is a very impqrt^nt date! The seventh charge, the case of Thomas I^tnJ), is similar; a man of the same character, anditjider the sanie circumstances. This case is most singular ^sam^tter of accusation. I a^rt that, on this QCy (^sji^n, as-ipji tlie farmer^ 1 %qted bon4 fide. The only 60 inly witness to prove ihe charge, proves that I did so ; he proves, I consulted the Officers in the Orderly Room on the propriety of it. The Lieutenant Colonel expressly approved of it. Major Wilson was by, and did not dissent from him. They are both in attendance as Witnesses : does the Prose cutor venture to call either to give a different ac count of that transaction ? On the contrary, he says, I think this evidence is quite sufficient upon this (barge. The Eighth Charge is for refusing to make a proper allowance to the men discharged for clothing due to them. With respect to this charge, no com plaint whatever was heard of, upon the subject of cloathing, unril after the list of June. This Court have heard how, this charge relative to it has been attempted to be supported ; and I am still of opinion that no such claim is valid. The Ninth Charge is for attesting men when the Surgeon had returned them unfit for service. In all cases of recruiting, the Surgeon is called upon to examine the men ; but it has happened in my regi ment, that In many instances the Surgeon was not to be foundi and other Surgeons have been applied to on account of the difficulty of finding him. Within 61 Within these last two years and a half the number I have enlisted is 631, all of whom I have seen before they were attested : and the objections now stated amount to thirteen ; five of whom are, on the evi dence, proved to be now in the regiment doing duty -, and, for the remainder, I have exhibited the Inspecting Surgeon's report, which has only ob jected to one / 1 1 The Tenth Charge is, " for obtaining, as Colonel " of the regiment, large sums of public money " from the Treasurer of his Majesty's Commiffioners " of Lieutenancy, which were ordered by them to " be invested in the hands, and under the controul, " of the Field Officers, jointly, for public service, *' and afterwards refusing to account for the appro- " priation thereof to the other Field Officers," &c. &c. &c. The large sums of public money stated to be obr tained from the Treasurer of his Majesty's Commis sioners of Lieutenancy, are positive debts owing to the Colonel, who had enlisted men on their account, under their Act of Parliament, and advanced the money for them, as the evidence before you has proved. The word " obtained" is certainly reprehensible, because it 6^ «, It Conveys ah msiniiatlbn 'df fr^tid, which all their cbhtrivance ne'uer can prove lipon their ColoHel. With respect to the brder of the Honorable Court tJf Lieutenancy for investing the money so paid, When due from them fbr money advanced, youha.'^e heard there Is lione, for the best of all possible reasons-^because they have no power to do so. It is an agreement between the recruiter and the parties ^Ho ar'e fp fTn'd the men ; and the investment pf the l>aM*Ace 4s expressly prpvided fpr by the said Act'df Tariiartient, to Whofn to 'be paid, and for What fufpose, "¦iind "fftid'ir whose controul; an accpu^t of whieh is riipst correctly kept, and the balances brpught fdr*- ¦^ai-d. What the prpseeiJitor can have tP dp 'tvith this matter pf accusatipn against me, as Well as iife others, I am -at a 4oss tp discpver, unless tP gratify the spleen which has been sp conspIc-Qie^s in tBe 'evidence adduced by him in -suppprt pf the rest. 'Oh the first representatipn to me of theriatore-' TuR^iER, while on duty In his Majesty's " Docl^ "Dock Yard, • Deptford, on of abbut "the " 14th January, 1804, in the following " words, wz,— God damn you, I have a " great mind to put you under arreft. Cap- " TAIN Turner was at the time at the ** head of his guard, then under arms, and " In the act of paying a proper compliment "to the Colonel." ' The Court finds, although Colonel Sir John Eamer has. In most of the instances stated in this charge, made use of language improper, and not upon reflection justifiable ; that his conduct does not, in the opinion of the Court, warrant the terms stated in the charge, namely, " highly injurious to " the Public Service, and subversive of Military " Discipline," and does acquit him. The Court, considering the distant dates of some of the articles, andthat such an apology was made by Sir John Eamer, when desired, as v^'as at the time considered satisfactory, thinks these" Articles of Charge ought not to have been preferred ; at the same time, the Court considers it right to caution Sir John Eamer to be more guarded in future, in tiis language- towards, the Officers of his regiment. With n With regard to the Fourth Charge, viz. ,4th, "Insulting and ungeririemanly language? " addressed to Mr. Tupper, the Surgeon^ " in the Orderly Room in Bunhill Rowy "Moorfields, London, on or about the 14th "of April 1805, in the following words, *' viz.-^' I have a great mind to order you " imder an arrest; don't you think I know ** you ? I know what you are ; a man so de- " pendent on the regiment, with a wife " and family, with such a scanty pittance, *'-not to ingratiate ypurself intP the favor 6f " your Colonel ;" The Court is of opinion, that Colonel Sir John Eamer is Not Guilty, and docs honorably acquit him. in respect to the Fifth Charge, t>fe. 5 th. *' Gross and ungentlemanly language ad- ** dressed to Captain Walker, at the *' Green. Man, Blackheath, on or about the *' 4th of August, 1804} in the following *• words, viz. — r — * God damn your soul, " God damn your soul, fetch me the Orderly " Book'." Th«r 79 The Coutt finds, that the language therein stated was made use of by Colonel Sir John Eamer to Captain Walker, but Sir John having madea sufficient apology tO CaptAin Walker, in the presence of the Officers before whom the words were made use of, and which CaptaiSt Walker con sidered satisfactory i the Court Is of opinion, that it reflects very great disgrace on the Prosecutor to have preferred this Charge, as it appears he was perfectly well acquainted with Captain Walker's being satisfied. With regard to the Sixth and Seventh Charges, H^iz. 6th. " Commuting the punishment, and taking " money for the discharge of Henry " Chant, of the Fourth Company, on or " about the nth June, 1805, ^^^'^^ under " sentence of a Court Martial; " 7th. Subversion of Justice, in taking mo- " ney on or about the 28th of May, 18051 " for the discharge of Thomas Lamb, of " the Eighth Company, a deserter, and or- " dered for trial." The 80 ' The Court, is of opinion, that Coloiiel Siit John Eamer is not guilty of either of the charges, and does acquit him. ¦ .' As to the Eighth Charge, viz. : 8th. " Refusing to make a proper allowance *' to the men discharged In the months of "May and June, 1805, for cloathing due " to them i" ¦ The Court Is not only of opinion, that Colonel ;6rR John Eamer is not guilty, and does most fully and most honourably acquit him, but con siders the charge to be totally groundless, vexatious,^ ,and malicious. In, respect of the Ninth Charge, viz. 9th. *' Attesting men In various instances, be tween the periods of November, 1804, and July, 1805, when the Surgeon had *' returned them unfit for service, to the in- " jury of the Public Service, and particu- , *' larly in the instances of •' Article 1st. John Jones, of the Sixth Com- " pany, attested the 28th December, 1804. *' Article 2d. James Martin, of the Sixth " Company, attested the 15th June, 1805, " Article (C 81 « Article 3d. James Osboldston, of the " Sixth Cpmpany, attested the 7th May, " 1805 ;" The Court is of opinion, that Colonel Sir John Eamer is not guilty, and does acquit him. In acquitting Sir John Eamer upon this charge, the Court thinks It right to observe, that it does not consider It regular, that a Colonel should cause men to be attested contrary to the opinion of the Sur geon ; but from the particular circumstances laid before the Court, respecting the various instances of men reported unfit by Mr. Tupper, the Surgeon of the Regiment, including the three men stated in the Charge, and other parts of Mr, Tupper's regi mental conduct, as Surgeon, as well as personally to his Colonel, proved in evidence before this Court, conceives, that in this Instance Sir John Eamer was fully justified in distrusting Mr, Tupper's opinion. Upon the Tenth and last Charge, viz. joth, *' Obtaining, as Colonel of the RegiT "ment, between the periods of May, 1803, *' and June, 1805, large sums of public " money from the Treasurer of His Ma- *'jesty's Commissioners of Lieutenancy, p ^' which 82 ** which was ordered by them to be invested *' in the hands, and under the cpntrpul *' pf the Field Officers jpintly fpr public " service ; and afterwards refusing to ac- " count for the appropriation thereof to the *' other Field Officers, , thereby acting highly *' unbecoming the character of an Officer " and a Gentleman ;" The Court is of opinion, that Colonel Sir John Eamer is not guilty, and does most fully and most honourably acquit him. The Court cannot forbear to express, that It would have had satisfaction In discovering that the motives of the Prosecutor, Captain Ayres, in preferring the Charges against his Colonel, had had for their objects the ends of public justice, or the good of the service ; but it is with regret the Court has found, that most of the charges are unfounded in fact, vexatious, scandalous, and malicious, and arising solely from private piqije and party resentment ; and the Court capnot too^ stfoqgly censure the conduct of Captain Ayres in. having suffered accusations to lay dormant and to accumulate, and afterwards, at a distant day, bringing them forward, Neither 83 Neither can the Court pass over without animad version, the conduct of Lieutenant-Colonel Jennings and Major Wilson, whose rank In the regiment should have led them to have exerted their best endeavours towards healing and conci liating any party animosities which might have made their appearance ; whereas, on the contrary, the Court has with concern perceived, that instead of their exerting the authority which attaches to their rank, in those endeavours, they have not only been totally indifferent as to the evil consequences which might arise, but have thereby contributed to the dissentions which have prevailed in the regiment ; and the Court cannot but observe, that party spirit has even appeared to operate upon their minds in the evidence they have given before this Court. The Court is sorry to have occasion further to ob serve, in the strongest terms, upon the conduct of Mr. Tupper, the Surgeon, who has not only been the author of some of the unfounded charges brought against his Colonel, but who has appeared to the Court, during the whole of these proceedings, in the most culpable and reprehensible light, particularly in respect to the first article of the second charge, relative to Francis Reilley; and that he has en deavoured 64 deavoured to fix upon his Colonel the responsibility which attached to himself. The Court cannot but remark upon the indelicate and unbecoming situation in which Captain Walker, the adjutant of the regiment, has placed himself by assisting Captain Ayres during the whole of the trial, in the prosecution against his Colonel, upon so many unfounded charges. (Signed) C, M. His Majesty has been graciously pleased to de clare his approbation of the decision, and^polnted remarks of the Court Martial, and for the sake of discipline and subordination in the Royal East London Regiment of Militia, His Majesty has thought fit to direct, that not only Captain Ayres, the prosecutor, but also Lieutenant-Colonel Jennings, Major Wilson, Mr. Tupper, the Surgeon, and Captain Walker, the Adjutant of the regiment, shall be displaced from their respeci tive situations in the regiment. FINIS. Njchoi-s and Son, Prinlen, Hei Lim Pa^agt, Fleet Sirctt, YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 04067 7958 YALE BRITISH HISTORY PRESERVATION PROJECT II SUPPORTED BY NEH