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(CERTAIN RETIRED OEFKTERS
op THK
III IBattaltoi,, Londoin VolnjiBteers^ji
TO THV
MISREPRESENTATIONS MADE AGAINST THEM
l;^'
IN THK
House of Commons,
,f,1; ■■■: .
OY Til.'.
M I N 1 H T :K K OF M 1 1.1 a' I A
MK. ALBJXANDEii MACK.EMZJE, M.P.,
O^S THE OCCASION OF'MK. BOI)WEI,L, MI'., MOVING I'OB. PAPERS
KiCI>ATINa TO THEIK IlE^IGNATIOW.
■* "'''!L2Ei>ISHl'*it
V'\^
A COPY OF THE CHAKGE8
WHICH WERE PREPERa^ai) BY LIEUT. CHAR^:.K8 HENJiTETT, ONK OV
THEIR Nl^BER, A'iAlNST LT.-COL. ROBERT LKWrs.,
But which were burked at: the instance of the Adjutant-tJeneral
of Militia.
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REPLY
TO TIIK >TA1KMk:XTS MVIIK liV
M., \
\
THE IlONOllAlil.l'; TIIK MINISTKROF MILITIA
AND
MR. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, M.P.,
. M IIIF.IIOVSEOF ('I'MiluXS 0\ 7 //A' 4th /.V.S/'.. 0.\ ,-
MR. liOL>\V J:L.IyS JSIOTIOX
FOU TIIK riiODI CTIOM OK rOiMlH-l'O.N DKN'CE TOUCilINC TIIK
UIOSIUNATIO.N OK CKUTAIN OI'KIOKi;;-; OK TIIi: SK^• KN'I'II
JtATTALlON t)K VOLI'NTKKUS.
:1
We obrtorvi! ill tlic publi^-licd dchiUOM of llic Hoiiso of <.'omiiioiiH on Mr.
Botlwoll'rt niotidii for tiic iirodiictioii of pnpprM rfhitiiiu; to certuiii rosijriiiitioiw
ill tlu; Sovciilh TJaltiiiioii of NoIhiiUmt Mililin, so niiiiiy iiiiHstalt'iiicntri
nmd<! by llic Miiiislo' of Mililiu anil by Mr. Alc.v. Muckfiizic ios|MMtiii}r,
and Kiicb a (.•oniplcln di-Jtorlion of llio I'ucts ol", timciiso iiiidor discussion,
tluit ill jiislicc to orirsolvi'H wo Jiro oompolled to Hiibiiiil to tlio iiiipartiiil criticism
and Judpnioiit of the jmblio n Htatitiif-nt of llio fiiot«, wliicli, for Honio uniu'-
pouiitabloroason. the Minister of Militia and the (Jovcniment desire to willi-
hoid.
Hcforf/ ent^'rinp, howo.or, upon th(i facts which <j;ave rise to the resif>;natioi s
we (If'sin! to notice a slatcinont, which is credited by the pii»ss to Mr. yiiu-
kenxie, "that the olTicors who had tendered their resi.u.iatioiis had conHpircd lo
get rid of tiieir colonel heaiuse he was a painter.'' No more unfoniid«»d «ccn-
sation could have beer. made. All the officers in (|iies+ion have to labor for
their livili<,^ (.)iie of them (Mr, Teale) is a marble cutter , another of tlum
(Mr. lieniiett) a cal>i net-maker, and, let us add for the benefit of Mr. Mac-
kenzie, a Scotclnnau and a Clear Grit of an advanced type to boot, and these
two were the ouly mechanics, with one exception, of all the officers of the
Battalion. The statement only affords anolluir apt illustration of the sayi:;!^
that " one mu.st go from home to hear the new.s." At home the only moti ves
imputed by the partizana of lit -CoLJiCwiH to the officers resigning were political
ones and a desire for promotion, and the motive now suggested is ouly
imputed because it will answer the purpose better than the others.
The objections to Lt. Col. Lewis were of a grave nature ; and were ha.sed
upon the rcaaons, set forth in the charges, (a coj)y of which is
annexed here), snbsoipiently broi ^ht against Lt. ('ol. Lewis by Mr. C Bennett,
at that time an officer in the J attalion, and other nmttei-s concerning th«
economy of the Battalion:
Col. Taylor, the district stalT officer, wa.s well aware of the dissatisfaction
e.Kiating in the liattalion, and admitted it to be well founded, and when
wait<Mi upon, not only by the officers wlio resigned, but by another
at present occupying the vof>itiim of a ffeld officer in the Battalion, with a
view to consulting him as lo the best means to be devLsed to get rid of Lt-Co).
Lewis, suggested, or at least fell in with the anggestion, that the best course to
1
:.,*'
'4i
,S^
liriiiK inaKiTH \u u crirtiK wouM lie for iln' olli<('rs wlict w< re ilissiitisliotl (o h'udt'f
their ri'Hi)ii[iiotiuiiH, iirid that h<i iiiaii} of tlii'iii li<>iii<^' Miit in at oii*'t.> woiiltl iiu-
turally looid tii ituiuiry luid iiivfwti^atioii aiul ultiinalt'ly to tht< itiuovuI uf tlie
caiiH« ordifi8ati!<ructi()ii.
Nino of the offii'erH tciiiltTcil tlii'ir rcsiLMiatioiiH. tlic last sciil in hoiiifr for-
warded on tho iHt of Scptt'nilH'r liL«t to Lt.-Col. LrwiH. All of liiom woro
uuconditional, nnd a dotfrniiimtion oxistod not to withdraw them uiiloas tin
enquiry waa diiectod ii.to our {,'rit'vaii(t's.
Nocommuuication was rcmivod from any (piaitor, in roj;:ard to them, until
the viHitof the Adjutunt-Grncral to I.i ndon on liiK annual tour of innpoction (on
the aixteenth of Septuinlxn- liHt) and up to that timo no formal complaint had
lKH»n 8eut in to tho Adjutanl-ticncrHl, although (.'ol. 'I'aylor had Ii<m'i\ infornu'd
and waH well awan? of tl»» Horious dmructer of tin- complaintH made ajraiiiMi
Lt.-CoI, Ijowia.
On the morning of the day of the inspection, the oirio('r> who had tondcrcil
their resiguationrt wen? officially notiticd that tin- Adjutant ticnoral d<'sii'<'d to
see them at ('ol. Taylor's oflici' at an hour which was named. At tlio hour
named we repaire<l to (yol. 'i'aylor's ollice, where w(i met the Adjutant (Jen-
eral, Col. Taylor, Lt. (.'ol Ia-wIs, and t'vo or thrco of the other olliccrs of the
KattAlion. The Adjutant (leneral then addressed us. Jl(f commenced by refer-
rinfj to the unfortunate iliflicullies (as he tenned them) which hud ari.sen in the
Battalion; to its former high .«landinjr ; to his thei, visit b 'iiiy his lirst in an oHi-
cial capacity ; to his doHire lor the jjdod of tho seivico ; and a],>pealed to us foi"
these conaiileratiouH — an apcrsonul fnvor to ltbnseU\ comiiifi, as he said ho
did, a stranj^r amongst us, and as a brother ollicor, to pcrmil our rtaigiw
tions to be witfulrnum and to return to our d'lty. lie said he wsis quito sure
Lt Col. Lewis, if he had sai<l or don(* unything to hurt our feelings, would
apologize to us, which lA. Col. Lewis thereupon offrrfd to do.
We politely but (inaly declined to conncnt to what the Adjutant (joneral
asked. We thanked lum for the kindly e.xpressions ho had made use of towarila
U8 and expressed our extreme regret that we could not in justice to ourselves,
and to the uniform we woro, consent to serve longer under Lt. Col. Lewi».
We informed him that our complaints agaiuKt the Lt. Col. were not of a
personal nature, but rested upon higher grounds, and that no apology would
be an apt or sufficient remedy. We, at the same time, intimated to
the Adjutant (ieueral our readiness to make our charjjes against Lt. Col.
Lewis specifically, but lie distinctly n^fused to examine into or tven hear any
complaints'. After we had replied verbally to the Adjutant (jeneral, ho do-
bired u.s to retire and consider what had passed, and not to give a linal answer
until a later hour.
We then retired, and, having consulted among oui-selves, prepared a letter
to the Adjutant (Jeueral. containing our formal answer, in which we reiterate<l
the verbal statement ma«lu to him, and also added, that if our complaints
against Lt. Col. Lewis were simply of a private nature, wo would be fpiite
willing, out of respect for him (the Adjutant General^, to forgot thorn and
return to our duty.
We, at the same interview, asked for and obtained i)erniission from the
Adjutant Gleneral, as an act of courtesy to him, to appear in luiiform at the
iaBpe<:tion, which was tf) be held in the afternoon, wiUicul heinfr culled upon
to do duty under Lt. Col. Lewii.
Before the inspection commenced the Adjutant General intimated to us,
^'i..
■ x-.
throu}{li f'lipdiiii Starr, that lio dj-sirnrl to »(><• ii« aft'r the iaapectioD, and wo
aftprw.mls iiii-l liiiii iit tho drill slicd, liy uii|n»intinnit.
\\r iiil(irin».'.l is that lif liiid n'ci'ivfd our written conimunicfttion, and
thankiul Hft/ur i'Im kindly iin/ r,-uitiH>u$ time, atul i.i the courwi of a loii^j and
u|»[turi'hlly iVii'iiilly iiiiil raiiiliar coiivt'isati<»ii, ttild u« of tbo difticulUeH of
i(»tlliii;i' rid til" li.id coiimiaiidiiin' itllicors — iastdiu-nf runex whoro c«inmaiidiii>r
(tllict'ts lial Ih'imi (guilty o\' rhirtlin^ at cnrda and ntlior diHlioiiorablo (u;ts, and
no rf(!rt's-i could 'to had; >|iok»' of Iho un|»lwwantno.sH of wrvinj: undt^r
" beafti of' I' niDniiiutiiifr njfid'e," told us that ho feared our compluinta w»'ro
not t)f that niilitury rhara<,-ti'r that would justify him in calling upon I.t.-t'ol.
f/owis tu ri'siirn. Hut (inally said, fic thuuijht Kv »aw hin way out n/ lh« d{ffi-
cully, and rf«|Ut'stt'tl u> lo tillinn our nuiffnutionn to nmain in abeijiincf until ho
roluriH'd to Ottawa, when he woidtl oon-^idi'r thu cuho and let (.-ol. Taylor,
who was pn-sonl at llu' intrrview, know tho rwull: at the mme lime lending
11$ to btliiU'c Ikiil he uiifctcil tit he ahle to ^vt rid of' lA.-Col. Leu'i$. Co\.
Taylor thru simv't's<>'d that wo nnst in tho meantime return to our duty as
the annual drill was tlion proceodini,', and ^nuirds of honor, und othnr ^tinnls
would 1)0 r<'((uirt'd at tho approach iiij^ visit of His Uoyal llighnens I'rince
Arthur. Wo declined appear! iiir uniler I it. -Col. LewiH, hut proinined to tutu
out a truard and hav(f the drilN ))roperly attended to in tho meantime by the
men of our (lonipanios. The A(ljutant-(ioneral rofusod to assent to this — -
liiit on its l>fin,<f snjrge.steiT that a.s tlie guard of honor wax a company guard,
and the olliet'is of it would not, therefore, be under the eommaiid of Lt-Ool.
iiOwis. the dilVKtnlty might be provided for by cancelling the pnraden then goint?
on. lie asstMited to this and left ns, repeating the compact between uh in .sub-
K tan ti ally these words. ''You agree then, to let your reniynationt $tand in
abeyance until I return to Ottawa, and in the meantime to return to your
duty, it being undernlood that there will he no duty to perJ'otm,as the parade$
will he cancelled, and, in the hieantinit', I mill nee what can be done for you
so t/iat your servicer can he retained.'' And he in our presence directed Ool.
Taylor to issue an order can('elling the parades. He then left us in a most
friendly maimer.
Tho parades were not cancelled as agreed upon. The Prince's visit took
place and we were in a dittleulty. \A.. Col. Lewis ordered that tho ^uard of
honor should comprise the whole IJattalion, which he would command, instead
of being a company as it should have been. We could not serve under lA.
Col. Lewis, anil were most anxious not to do anything which might be con-
strued into a broach of faith with the Adjutant Coneral. Wo accordingly
called upon \A. (.'ol. Lewis and arranged that a guard should be formed under
the command of a captain, that the officer to command it should be nasied by
him, although tho officers he insisted upon naming were not the senior offi-
cers or entitled of right to command tho guard. The guard was obtained
alm0))t entirely by the exertions and at the expense of *Jie officers whom tho
Adjutant Creneral is plea-sed to term tho " disaffected," and His Royal High-
n(?8H wiLS creditably received, which he would not have been, but for their
exertions.
The Prince's visit over, nothing was heard from the Adjutant General until
about the 8th of October last, when some (not all) of the officers who
had tendered their resignations, were invited by Col. Taylor to visit his office,
and peruse a communication he had received from the A(^utant General ia
reference f • our resignations, in which the At^utant General was graeiomly
pleased to say that if the "disaffected" officers would apologize to Lt. Col.
Lewis, and ho wotdd accept their apology, they might return to their duty,
....^J
•■■'»
i
and if not thnt their mRignatiiiriH hIiouI'I imniodintrly ho forwurdcd foi hc-
I'cplaiice.
A more cool uiid tk'lilM'riilo iiiHult c(»uM l\ar<lly Imvo licen oflonxl by one
niiiii to aiiotluir, tin i a iiioif liiin;ruct'(l iittciiipl to iiii.s-.stato and rt-vrrKO tlio trtin
Hisitioii of the partit'H c
)ni(!«rH"' liiwi ueitlu'r umI
oiilil not liavf iHM-n iinairint'tl. Tlio " iliMuircctiMl
oiuwrH iiiwi uiMiiu'r utikt"), nor (io^ired to 'witlidraw their n'Ki;;natioiiH.
Tliey had lieon pemuaUeU, preaitvd and ciwixed t(» withdram them, but had
refuted to do to, and liad only at li'n;,'tli ruiiscnttd (o h't tlnnn remain in n/icy-
iince at the urgfnt nolicitntioiiH of tin' Adiiilnnt-dcnfrnl upon an exproHK
promise, thnt wiks made only tn be broiien, and an inipli<'d one that tlie A<1-
jntont (lenerid could never huv(! intendi-d to ivfc)). And then to write sueli
a letter ! Jle must have been craj-.y when ho wrote it, or iaiogiiied that the
men lie wuh dealin;.^ with were fooN.
Wo need not add that this Kracitms oll'er wiw indi>;nant!y rotusod by all the
" diHafl'ectoil," with tliat conleni])t which it deserve*!.
It ini^'lit reasonably l»e expected that the head of the militia dep irtmt'nf,
when he presunu'd to .speali authoritatively in the House, iruvld, have iit husi
taken the trouble to have Uiirncd the facts of the carte ho was di icussiufj
before en<!eavorin;^ to enlighten the House oh to them. ISut not only wiw
this not HO, but almost every statement ina<lo by him in the eouiMi of his
hp(!ech was incornict, and if he had only taken the trouble to look at the
pa[K'rs in his departnu-nt, i</yo»t the eramiiialioii of which ho had prof cattd to
jni^HJudfrmint, he would have learned their incorrectness.
lie would have it inferred that the renifruations were sent in after the diffi"
culty of Capt Meredith ni reference to the jjfuani at the I'rince's residouce,
ichile, ill fact, llivj itere sent in ntarly a month brfore.
Ho also 8tat<;s tlr.it C'aptain Meredith attempted to take posascssion of the
piiard by force. A statement wholly unfounded. (See Mr. Meredith's state-
ment apjiended.)
He 8«yri too that Lt-Col. JjOwiH is an "excellent and praiseworthy oflicer.'
As k any Militia ollicer in the district if this is correct ? Save only Ibipule
.Major MolVat, and t,'aptaia Melville l>u lilois Dawson, the brother-in-law of
the " excellent and praiseworthy odicor. "
To sum up, we complain : —
1. That the Adjutant treneral of Militia was ,!::uiUy of a gross breach of
faith in reference to his promise to cancel the parades.
2. Tllbt he was guilty of a dishonorable and mean attempt to make it appear
that we had re(|uested to be allowed to withdraw our resignations, while, on
the contrary, we had consented to their rf5mainiiig in abeyance only nt his own
urgent solicitation and request, after we had positively declined to withdraw
them.
3. That the Minister of Militia has concurred in the action of the Adjutant-
General in saying that we ought to have accepted an apology for nuttteis
such as those charged by Lieut. Bennett, in the mrrmorandum of his charges
annexed hereio, which for the purjwses of his arguments with us ou the 16th
September last (as is shown) he admitted to be true.
4. That he refused an enquiry and investigation into the grave charges
preferred against Lt.-Col. Lewis.
5. That ho has in his place in Parliament, either wilfully or rockkssly
^Ww
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miHtftiitwii I'actM wliicli oii^ht t«> liiivi> Im>«'|| known (o him, ii^ ii nipr«< rnr^nry
t'Xitniiiiiitioii III' tlio |ia|M'r'i upon wliicli lit* pron<sK<><l to Intvt* pii'^.Ht'*! judtfinont
niiiHi liuvo hLown liini lliut numl uf hi.i Hlut«'ni)>nt4 wt>iv, to Hiiy tiio \vaai,
wrroueoiiM.
I). C. MACDONAT,!), lulo Cii|»liin,
• W. W Mi;UKI>ITII,
.FAMKS A. CKAKJ,
IIAUHY HKUCK,
K. T. TKALK,
TIIOS. \. (lUKKNK. " LifMt.iVAdJt.
;». M. MKIlKIMTlf,
V. HKN'NKiT,
('. S. COUUKJAN,
«4
4 •
II
Luiitluii, April Gth, I8TU.
F.OHijjn.
STATEMl'^NT OF MR. Mr.ilKDITII
WITH RKKKIIRNCI
TO TMK (JL'AUO
I'KSlDKNo;.
ON rr'l, PRINCK'S
I WHS on tli»' ovoninj? o( the I'rintcV urrival r''jrul"*'v warnotl l»y llio
Adjutant oT tin' iv^inxMil tt) tiikf *'oninuin(l of tlic q:uiu'(I whirl* wuh Io
relievo, on the folluwin^f nioiiiin;.', llm jruanl of ♦Imt <hiy (altcrwiinjn rii""'I
the ol<l ^uai'd.) 1 luilhor son^fiil, nor ([(sirtMl to oc('M|») the |)o«*i-
tiun wliitji was aj<.Hi).nu'<l to rm-, liut acted in what I sulwipunfly <Iid sinip'v
in the pcrl'orniunie of a military duly, rather IrkHonio than otherwisi-, hut a
neceisHurv one. On the f'ollowin),' nu»rnini!; I went to the drill nlied to tahe
t'harjje ol" the giiurd and march it to thi I'rince's nsidcnci. 'i'hc (.'uurd
asrtcnddcd at the usual hour, was inspected by the .\djulaiit. handed over to
im'' and inarched by me to the residenet (if the I'rinee, and there drnwn up
for iho parpo.se of relieving the old truard, hut its captain n-Jumii /o In
ri'liirtd 111/ mi'. I then, for the lirst time that day, m«'t Captain
Walker, who informed me that he hati heen ordered by the coinnuiialiiiu
ollicer of the ref.'inient for the duly i vvas perliirminj^. I inibrnied Captain
Walker llmt 1 had been warned for the duty or. the proviotis evenin;; iu the
ri'f!^iiliir irau: that the iruard had been in,-<pected and handed over to
nu», and that it was my <luty not to ^-urrender it to any one. Kindin;;
that the c.jptain of the old iruard would not permit me to reli<'ve him, I seni
for the Adjutant to luoduce the onlers under which 1 was aciin<r, but la'fore
\ui urrival the connnamiiufi' olTiccr of tlit* Hattalioii af)peare>l upon the Hccae
in jildiii i.'ntthrs, and in a coarse iiml unfrt itt/einuiih/, thonu;h not the less
charjicteri.stic maniie'-. piihli 'iy insulted me mid the subnilerii oilicer under me in
churu;o of the new f^iiard ; refused to liear or to listen to my explirnutious a:
Htatement, and in an in.'uiJtin'T and contom]<fonH manner ordered the men
forming the new guar ! not to oftei/ vie, and in the presence and bewaring of i!ie
men ordered Captain Walker to mal'o {)risoner.s " of flios'^ men," referring to
myaelf and the .subaltern officer abjve alluded to. Had I acted >trietly up to
my sense of duty I ought to have made him or any one cLse interferino: w'tli
my guard prisoners, but being de.sirouH of avoiding an niiMeeniiy di.iiurbuu' e
iu front of the Princo 8 «piarters and in his hearing, 1 did not do t^o, hut
retired from the couimund of the guard.
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I then rr]>:)r(eiJ in ( ;]. Taylor, tlio districf stall" o(Tii'or, wlmf had orcnvn'd,
and rt'tnrnod home, took oil' my iinironii, and aMinil in plain <loih(!« went in
f|ii»'rtt of LL Col. Ij<?wis witk Ikf vuw of dcinandinf; an a/iolo^i/ from him
Cor tlo i:ros» insnit he had oircrcd to \\\i\ and in tho r'vont of not rocoivinij; it
dftoraiintd to chastise liini lor liis insolence. Sliortly al'terwards I met him in
Wui Fi-ei- I'irtts ollrco, challciifjiMl liiin witli the insult, and reccivintr no apology
or .siitisfaotion, bnt \ni'rely a I'alse denial oi' liavin<j: insulted me, slajiped him
in the face.
1 biid no intention at any time ofdoin^' more than slappinfr Lt. C(d. Lewi.s'
k\ce in v!ie event of not receiving- an apoloiiv, Imt even if I liad his hasty
retrrat when the eneonnter took place would have prevented my iutlictiug
'.tny more serious punishment.
I do not deny that, as has l»e<in allejred, I was sonunvhat, and naturally too,
1 think much excited when I met \A. ("ol. l/cwis; lint upon rellection 1 do not see
liow 1 eonld have ai'ted otliiMwise. 1 1" I liad 1 wtiuld have merited the
accuijation of beinjt a "coward;" as it is some may call me a "rowdy," but
bein::: allowed a choice between the two I uiiliesitatiiiiily a Imit that I am
williii;^ to bear the odium of the latter r:ither tiiiin tiu; former accu.tilion.
W. R. MKREDITII,
COPY OF CHARGES
FIlKKKKBKn HY
LIEUT. BENNETT AGAfNST LIEUT.-COL. LEWIS
7th BATT., V.M.
SIR,—
London, 30th Sept., lbG9,
I have the honor to submit the followiuf? chariron against Lieutenant Col.
Robert Lewi,s, eommandin;^: the "^th Rattalion, Volunteer Militia of Canada.
First. — That he lias shown Lreneral unfitness for his position, and ij^norance
of his duties — as an instance: on the 2-lth of May last, it was necessary for
the officer in charjzo of the Briji;ade to <jive the Executive word of command
to the JJuttaliou i j order to j)reveiit a dead-lock in the piu'ade.
Second. — That in the month t)f November, 18G7, in a rille niatcli between
ten men of the Tth Ilattaliou, and the same nu;iiber of men of the 2'Jnd
Battalion, Lt.-Col. Lewis uctintf as scorer, 'irilfnUy and corruptly so altered
the figures in favor of the Tth IJatt.alion, that it api>eared the winner by 8
points, when in truth and in fact the '22nd had fairly won the match, thereby
defrauding the nieo of the 22nd out of the match and the money they had
wagered.
Third. — That Lt -Col. Lewis acted .xs Treasurer for the Western District
Rifle Match in 1807, when a large amoimt of money was collected for prizes,
aud, besides which, the eutrauce fees amounted to nearly as large a sum as
tlu! |>ri/,«,'H i»ii(l; y»>t no slatcinciit liiirf ever liccii olituiiifd of tin; atiKdiiiiM
rofoivod and disldirsfd, iillli()iij.4i Iit.-(U>I. Lrwis lias bt'on ric(|ut'n(ly asked Coi
tlio natni'; and lin well knows that his witldmldinf,' tho sanu* han irixiMi vko to
(|UOcitioiis rf')4iirdinf;- Ids lionosty in Iho tnaKcr.
Fourth. — That at tho Ontario lliflo Match at Toronto, in didy last, lip
pormitled porsoiis to piis-; thonisoivos olV as Voluntt'ors, falsely cortifyin;;; that
tlu»y holonirt'd to hi.-t liattaiion in order to allow thoin to compete for prizes in
matches that were open to "Volunteers only/' when such persons never
lielonged either to lit.-t.'ol. Lvw is' Hattalion or any (tther cor]>s of N'olnnteers;
tho names of two of such persons being *
Fifth. — That at thn same nuitch, Ity ullowinir such persons to appear as
Volunteers he brouirht /rreat discredit on the IJattalion, as ouo of the parties
was turned ofi" the jrronnds for beinjf improperly dressed, a|i[).'arinfj; in such a
style that he was a laughing stock to all present, and caused very uncomj)li-
montary remarks tr> be passed against the whole corps.
Sixth. — 'I'hat at tho (puirterly meeting of the ofticers of the Hattalion in
July last, he was guilty of deliberate fahehood, in denying that \w had made
use of certain expressions regarding an officer of the Maltali'wi with which
that officer charged him, and which expressions he aftorwanls admitted he had
used.
Seventh. — That about three week.s since he spoke in a manner disresjM'ctful
of his su[»erior officer, l)y stating in the presence of several oflicers of the
IJattalion that lit.-(3ol. Taylor (referring to the Deputy A. (ieiieral of Militia)
had acttnl in the matter of the recent ditliculties in the liattuJiou anything but
the part of a gentleman.
Eighth. — That he haw been guilty of falsehood and dishonesty in matters
connected with the (>conoiiiy of tlic; Hattalioii, and of uniform di-scourtesy to
his oflicei'M, and that his conduct generally has been unbecoming that of uu
oHicer and a gentleman.
And i recpiest that a court of encpiiry may be ooiiveued for the purpose of
investigating the foreaoiim charges.
I have the honor to be, Sir,
Vour moat obedient servant,
(;. HKWKT'J'.
Li,-ut. 7th Batt.
To Lt-Col. Robt. Lewis, Commanding 7th IJatt., \^ M.
Mr. Bennett, on 2rith Oct., wrote to tae Minister of Militia, asking if any
action was to be taken on these charges, and received the following reply:
Dk'I'aktmk.vt ok Mri.rriA am> Dkfk.nck, >
Ottawa, November l.'ith, 1869. ^
SIR,—
\n reply to your letter of the 25th ult., I. am directed by the Honorable the
Minister of Militia and Defence, to inform you t!iat after due enipiiry he hart
lean;ed that the Adjutant (Jeneral of .Militia, just befo.-e his inspection of the
7th Battu' Hi ill September last, wa,s notifKMi thai you and .several other
officers of >.ie 1th Battalion had becume di.saffected towards your commanding
otKcer (Ll,-(,'o!. Lewis), and were conducting yourselves in a manner hubver-
• These names are omitted from this^^copy, as the parties are in no way c( nnactoil
with this controvei-£iy
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-fc.^ . iVaV it rill ilitih
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sivi' of mnnl iinlcr aiul iiicoiisisUMit witli lliu itiiii(i|)l»'.-j o\' militia disoiplliio,
uiul lliat yoii hud tciidcrcil your resignation on tlio <,aomid that, you would not
servo undf'r lit-(!ol. Lewis; also, that al'tor a duo iiivcstii,'atiou was dis-
covfM'cd tliitt Hoiiit' ol' tlio otIiforK concorMril did not wish to i vn tlio
ll(>),nni('Ml; that with tlio view of ro.stoiitii!' lianiiou) and j^ood foolini; uuioiil:;
the ollioor.s, tlie Adjutant (Jomiral had au intorviow with thcni, but I'aih'd to
(liHCover that in H('ndin<r ia your rosi^'iiation }ou had any nii!it;iry or
prol'ossiiuiai 1,'rouiid of lirifvanct* a<.cainst l,t.-('ol. l.owis; tiuit an aiipoal was
then mack' in the kiialost niannt'r to your fcolini(s as an olficer and a gontlo-
niau, and that lit.-CJol. Lewis frankly and freely ottisred to apologise, if ho
had been so unfortunate as to hurt your feelings, but without elfeet; that you
•ippear to have been treated with the groatest lenioney mid coiisiikTation; and
ample time was given for you to retleet upon the course you were pursuing;
that it was not deemed necessary to take any notice of the coiii[ilaint« and
accusations, afterwards made by you, and .still less to recommend a cninpliance
with your request; that the Deputy Adjutant (Jeneral in command of your
l>;strict informed you that your resigiiution would be accepted if you were
not di8i)osed to return to duty in f> proper spirit, and to apologise to your
commanding oiVicer: and thai as yon did n<it tliiiik proper to adopt that
course yiuir resignatiiui wasluiy su!unille<i (o and acceptt'd at Head (.^iiartfrs,
and you were gazetted out of the Active Militia, on the 11th October last.
I am to add that under all the circumstanceK the c(mrso adopted l>y the
Adjutant <Jeneral has been fully coMeurre<l in by the Minister of Militia and
Defence, who does not deem it necessary that any further jiroceedings should
bo taken in the matter.
1 have the lioiuu' to be, Hir.
Voiir most obedient servant,
Gl':UllGK FUTVOYK,
C. Beuuett, Esq. l)y. of M. of M. & D.