Vainning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmte A des taux de reduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clich6, 11 est film6 A partir da I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 t 2 3 - ■ 4 • 6 ■^ _Jii.'' -S*? /i^/V /■'t ■,//•- i'/'.'^V''*- . "^ il' CXKCUBlSTANtUL NAERATIVEi;^^ t?-' ■ tj^ ■LEWIS BURNg:, TV., '-y*. ■■:4;, :j^ii£ifr]^-i>;E^KAL couut M/JiTrAL,#.- ■ja(Btu't5(:A 8ec( Tail / warrant under ///.■>• hand and seal" — of which this instrument was manifestly deficient, — nothing in the shape of a seal appearii\:4 ou its face, except a coniinou wafer. This objection, however, was over-ruled by the Court ; but an exception was j^ermitted to be tiiken on the pohit. The Judge Advocate then adminisiered the usual Oath to Lieuten- ant-Colonel Drury, as Piiesioent of the Court; and then called forward the other uiembcrs, for the purpose of being also sworn. — During the course of th'ir. proceeding. Captain Jiurns demanded of the Piu^sinnNT, that the Commissions of the difFerent Officers should be produced — this application however was not attended to. Captain Burns then objected to several members of the Court, ou account of their being near relations of Major Pe- ters, the officer by whom the charges were preferred. Upon this the Court was immediately cleared, and upon the re-open- ing of the doors, this objection was also found to have been over-ruled, and the Judge Advocate declared; that those Mem- bers whose names appeared on the list, were eligible to try the cause about to be brought before them. Here Captain Burns openly protested against the proceedings, declared the Court il- legal, and immediately left it. In the absence of Captain Burns, however, the Judge Advocate swore in the Members, and the officer in waiting was dispatched to Captain Burns, requiring bis attendance at the Court Room ; — this requisition, Captain B. peremptorily refused to comply with. '' '- The Court was then adjourned until Tuesday next the 6th of October; and in the interim^ Adjutant-General Shore pro- ceeded to Head-Quarters, to lay the state of matters, at this awkward crisis, before the Commander-in-Chief. Kot knowing what representation of the state of affairs, the Adjutant- General m'ght be pleased to make to His Excellency, *>.' ■v. '"X;:,"; I avikilc der-in-^ jutant- foUows I May it { tliis City, I lMv« to hi «:,' f the r Pe- pon )en- )eeii *m- the urns til- irns, the 6th iro- this the hcy, I avtkiled myself of the opportunity of teritiiig to the Covninan- der-in-Chief, by the same Steam Boat which conveyed the Ad« jutant-Generai to Head-Quarters ; — a copy of my letter is aa follows : Saint John, NovembtT 1, 1827. To His Excellency Sir Howard Douglas, Lieutenant •GorerixSr and Coinmandor-in-Chiof of the Province of New-lirunswick, lie. dec. Jko. May it please your Excellency,— As, no doubt, the proceedings of tlic "BoAy assembled as a Court Mtrtial, il this City, for my trial, will reach your Excellency by this Steam Boat, I humbly b*f~ leave to hand to your Excellency my objections to be tried by that Body. Ist. That by section 24 of the Militia Law, an Ofiicer can only bfi tried hf Warrant under the Hand and Seal of your Excellency. In place of such Warrut, I have every reason to believe, the paper was signed by Adjutant-General Shorer, the proseeutor, though, probably, with intimation of its having been so signed, to your Excellency. 2d. That I deny the competency of any man, sitting on this Court Mar* tial, other than a Commissioned OfUcer, as will bo seen by reference to the same sec- tion of the Militia Law as mentioned above. In ptaae of Commissioned Offieers alone pitting, I 6nd that the President and several of the others, have no Commisalons ; that the reasons why I object to the sitting of any but Commissioned Officers, are as follow ; —Ist, that in the late instance of tho trial of Captain and Adjutant Forrester, a Mill* tia.Officer, at Halifax, it was foundj'that several of tho Officers composing the Court, did not hold their Commissions, upon which the President adjourned the Court until the next day ; and such Officers as had no Commissions, were under the necessity of going to the proper Office, paying the fees, and taking them out. 8d. The well known fact of Officers in Nova-Bi^utia, liaring proseailted indi- ^duals in their respectivn Corps. <'l><» had n«i turned out according to Law, having, ultimately, by decision of Civil Coi:rts, had to rdturn the amounts received, with all damages, in consequence of their not having had Commissions; the I^aw viiew^ng no men as an Officer, who, either himself, or by his Agent, has not taken out his Com- misiion. 4th. The fact of Judge, late President Bliss, the predecessor of your ExoaU Ivnoy, in the administrationof tho Government of this Province, having issued, in tlisi Boyal Gazette, u Proclamation, denying tho right of any man to appear •■ an Offloery who had not taken out his Commission. So soon as these objections are obviatad, I am most ready to be tried by • Court Martial, which I earnestly beg your Excellency will grant; but I could not think of submitting my public and private charaoter to be discuseed by a body of mep, who, in my opinion, were neither, by the Icjality of their warrant, nor their own qua- lifiaations^ fitted io try me. I have spent a great part of my luTe in the British .trhiy, vihich I Icfi: with tlio hii^hcst lc.stimoiiin.I:i iu my favor ; and I only beg that your E2x« cellency ft ill be pleased, to sco tlio law of tho land carried into efikct, and thereby screen mn from private malevolence. If your Excelleney should not wish the subject fortbsr to be agitsied, I am most willing to retire, on my rack being secured to v\t, l*m, Your Excotlenoy's roast obedient humblo serva'.it, (Signed) ■ LLv-;ts burns, ■ Capt. & Adji. 1st Batt. St. John City Militia". Tho Adjutant-General havinC£^tfe, ';H> ' ' I >. << ;»■ ■» V i^ ■■^' 71" ^ ■ !: : It ■*%■ ■ ;-i.. '•. ' ■ 1 •'"'•,■'/!•' ( ^ -■■ '• * !, f: ' ■ '5' ..'' .1 ■» ! ••V >J- ' Colonel Shore wat then sworn, and examined by the Court* " Q. What is your rank in the Militia ? A. I am Lieuten&nt-Colonel in the Militia, and Adjutant- General of the Militia Forces. Q. Do you know Captain Burns, and what rank did he hold previous to October, 1826 ? A. I know Captain Lewis Burns as a Captain in the Militia since the year 1821, when he was promoted to the rank of Cap- tain in the 1st Battalion Saint John Militia, in the montli of Ai^ust. Q. What was his rank previous to the 26th October, 1826 ? A. Captain and Adjutant — but he has not held the rank of Adjutant since that period. Q. Have you the order for displacing him as Achutant ? A, •! have not — but, >(here he j>roduced a book) 1 now hold in my hand a Letter Bookt which contains a copy of a letter from me to Major Peters, dated the 26th of October, 1826. Q. Then is thai the order you allude to? A, It is. Q. To whom v/as that order addressed ? A. To Major Benjarain L. Peters. Q. Will you read that order? A. I will. • " ■ ' [Here Colonel Shore read the first clause of the letter called by him an order, — a copy of the 'sahole of which had been pre- viously transmitted to Captain Burns.] Adjutant-General Shore, cross-examined by Captain Burns. Q. Was Major Peters appointed Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion ? '• • •>.'. - "^ A. Major Peters was appointed Major ia 1824, and is Major at the present time. Q. Have you the General Order for his appointment ? A. I have. [Here Colonel Shore produced the above-mentioned Letter Book, and pointed out to the Judge Advocate something which n;)pearcd to be written therein — l)ut he neither read, nor was requested to read, any part of its contents.] Q. Did not Captain Burns receive the rank of Captain, in or- der that he might be ena'jled to tiike command of the Battalion on drill days, in the absence of Fitki Officers? ... Captain Burns was appointed out of the 2d Battalion^ Ai^jutant with the rank of Captuiu. ' 4' ' V '' , Court* Adjutant- el lie hold \Q Militia k of Cap- nontli of ;r, 1826? a rank of itant? now hold f a letter 1826. ter called aeen pre- Burns. cer of the is Major lit? ed Letter ng which , nor was iin, in or- Battalion Battalion^ Q. Was \\\ . , Q. Do you know Captain Lewis Bums ? A. I do. J Q. What Battalion did he belong to? • A. He belonged to the same Battalion as I belong to.r , Q. Does he still belong to that Battalion ? A. He does. Q. What rank did he hold in that Battalion ? A. The rank of Captam and Adjutant, since the 15th of May, 1824. Q. Ha I he held that rank ever since ? A. As Captain, but not as Adjutant, having been displaced. Q. Did you, on the 1st September last, issue a Regimental Order to C;aptain Burns, to take command of any company ? A. I did not. Q. At what time did you issue any order, and at what place? A. On the 1 1th July. Q. Was Captftia Biirns included m that order ? • > A. He was. . : • . com- nside- >e put ferred Court gainst to the Cap- ispla- '■e. •ead.] Bat- \ th of aced. ■ ental ny ? ace? # ,, ^- '■ .' 1 • •« . ■ ,^ ■ -/•^i^''\'' '.:>■'')■.:. r^/' ' Q. To what Company was Captain Burns attached*? A. He was attached to No. 1 Company. Q. What rank in the Militia did he then hold ? ' A. The rank of Captain. Q. Was Captain Burns furnished (and at what thne) with the Muster Roll of No. 1 Company, to which you say he was attached? A. I directed Lieutenant Roberts, a subaltern officer of that Company, to deliver the Muster Roll to Captain Bums. — A few days after that, I received a communication from Lieutenant Roberts, informing me, that he had forwarded the Muster Roll to Captain Burns, and that it had been returned to him under a blank cover. I then directed Lieutenant R. to make an offi- cial report, and to return to me the Muster Roll — ^which he did. On the 25th August, I issued an order for Captains and Offi- cers commanding, to assemble their respective Companies on Wednesday ihjs 12th and Friday the 14th proximo, for Martial Exercise, and on Monday the ITth of the same month, for In- spection : — requiring, at . the same time, commanding officers of Con^panles to give due notice thereof. On the 31st of Au- . gust, I enclosed the Muster Roll of No. 1 Company to Captain and Adjutant Robinson, directing him to furnish Captain Burns with i^ as he had been attached to that company since July last. I received a return answer from Captain and Adjutant Kobin- , son, that he had attended to that duty, and Captain Bdrns re- fused to receive the Muster Roll, unless sent to him officially. Receiving this information from Captain and Adjutant Robin- son, I immediately made a report to Lieutenant- Colonel Drury, dated 1st of September, 182T — a copy of which I now have and will read. [The substance of this repbrt was, that Captain Bums had refused to do the duty of Captain of No. 1 Battalion Company, and that he had consequently appointed Lieutenant Roberts to the command of the same.] ' ■; * Q. Do you know whether Colonel Drury received the re- port of which you have now read a copy ? A. A short time afterwards I received a letter from Colonel Drury, directing me to give the command of the company to another officer. Q. Did tJaptain Burns take charge of* the company, as re- quired of him? _ A. He did not. ■'' ',-.' "' '". [ - " ''.'V ■■ ' ■ ■'*"'. - "' ■'* ' ' Cross-examined bi/ Captain Burns. '- -' Q. When were you appointed to take cQmmand of the 1st ■f\ ■:;ti-/ , • '^-^ 'V i "'%,h V J* . ♦ ..- «^. -K •>% 1^ Battalioti ofSaint John City Militia, and did you receive your appointment by a General, or Regimental Order ? ' The Adjutant-General objected to this question, as he said it had been answered previously. ^v jf. Captain Burps, however, insisted on its being put, and the Adjutant-Geheral's objection was over-ruled by the Court. A. I considered myself as taking command of the Battalion when I was Gazetted as Major. Q. At what time was Captain Burns displaced as Adjutant? A. On the 10th November, 1826, I forwarded a copy of an order to Captain Burns, dated 2Cth October, 1826, and csrti- fied by me as being a true copy of the original. Here the Judge Advocate read the same clause of this order as had been read by Adjutant-General Shore, on his evidence— the substance of which was, that His Excellency had no furthe:.- occasion for his (Capt. B's) services in the situation of Adjutant. ' Q. Was that a General Order, or a private letter ? ' f^' A. It was an official communication from the Adjutant-Ge- neral's Office, dated Fredericton^ the 26th of October, 1826? Q. Did you, after receiving that cominur 'cation, consider Captain Burns as being an officer m the Militia ? -c A. I did : — or 1 should not afterwards have attached him to B company. Q. Did you, on the first occurrence of a vacant Captaincy tliereafter in the Battiilion, appoint Captain Bums to the com- mand of a company ? A. The first order I issued after that, for placing officers to their respective companies, and considering Captain Buriis as a Senior Cuptain, I placed him at the head of the 1st Battalion Company. Q. Did you, on any occasion, stiite to an officer or officers of the City Militia, that Captain Bnvns was no longer an officer, and that he could not be considered as such upon public occasions ? A. I did not. Q. Had you auy conversion widi Colonel Drury, re'">pecting the appointment of Captain Burns to No. I Company, previous to an order havinfr been issued to that dibct ? A. I cannot call to mind any particular conversation. I might have had some concerning the subject, but do not recollect when it was. Q. Do you know whether Captain Burns were put under an arrest in the month of October, 1836 ? A. I did not consider him under an arrcnt, but understood that a conununica^n was uddre:}sed tu him calling hiia bcfare a ' i / .Ip; '.■■■'•■ <^^^ Court of Enquiry. — I do not know il'it was a Court of Enquiry, but all the Field Officers of tlie City and County Militia as* sembled on the occasion, and Captain, ^rns was called to an- swer to & complaint preferred againsr^^iim by the Inspecting Field Officer. Q. Was the complaint to which Captain Burns was brought forward to answer at the Court you now refer to, made by your- self individually, or in conjunction with tlie Inspecting Field Officer? A. It was not made by myself: — nor did I know any tiling of it, until I attended at Colonel Drury's House, w]ien Captain Burns denied the charges which it contained, and requested a General Court Martial. . , Here Captain Bums stated that he had received from Major Peters, a copy of a letter from Adjutant-General Shore to him, displacing Captain Burns from the situation of Adjutant, the original of which Captain B. requested to be read.— The Court ordered it should be read, and the Judge Advocate read it ac- cordingly. It is as follow : Adjutant General's Office, > ; • " FrederUton, tSih October, 1^26. $ Sir, — I am directed hy the CominBnJ(»r-in- Chief to desire that yoii will be pleased to communicate to Captain and Adjutant Burns, of the Battalion of Militia under your ccmmand, that Kis Excellency has no further occasion for bit services in the situation of Adjutant. His Excellency has found himself und^r the necessity of coming to this decision upon leports from the Inspecting Field Officer and yourself, by which it appears that -Cap- tain and Adjutant Burns had not performed his duty in the manner which it was parti- cularly incumbent on him, and appertaining to tlu; proper office of Adjutant" to do, but had made use of language calculated to show resistanca arid disobedience to the orders, and to dispute the authority of Liciitcnarit-Colonel Love, to instruct and eommaud, as well as to inspect the Militia at their general mnctings us directed so to do by His Ex- cellency's orders and instructions, drawn in strict conformity with the Act for the Or- ganization and Regulation of tlie Militia Forces. 1 have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient humble Servant, (Si-ned) GiUORGBUnORE, Adjutant- a eneralM.F. Major B. L. PETERS, Commanding > lit Batt. St. John City Militia. J . ' ' - •■'• • ■>" ■■•-■ ■ '-'f ■ I certify the within to be a true copy taken from the orioinal to mo directed- (Signed) IJKNJAMIN L. PETERS, MaJK>r Commanding Isi Battalion City Militi*. ' Captain Burns then requested that this document should ap- pear on the Minutes of the Court, — to this the Judge Advocate objected ; stating explicitly at the same time, that he would not insert it in the Minutes of the Com-t, which should be laid before the Commander-in-Chief~nnd that, in fact, the Notes or Minutes wiiieh he was then taking were not those which xvould be shown to llh Excelkncy, but that " A Copy of them would be made out by him for that purpose hereafter." -J^ ► < -i • ) ♦1 ■ ( -»/f h V ( 'I i%>i^r '' u ^:. • . 'i V •\ J::..-' I! m ,"■ '/! Q. Do you know whether the General Court Martial which Captain Burns then requested was ever gran ted him'r A. I know it was nr^^^ Q. Did ever any coriOfpondence take pla6e between you and the Adjutant-General, or between you and the Commander-in- Chief regarding the subject matter of the complaint tb^n laid before the Field Officers at Colonel Djury's house ? A. The impression on my mind is, that no correspondence took place except the official communication which I now hold in my hand, addressed to me by the Adjutant-General, dated the 26th of October, 1826, directing me to communicate f: Captain and Adjutant Burns of the Battalion of Militia under my com- mand, that His Excellency had no further occasion for his services in the situation of Adjutant.— -The complaint was made by Colonel Love to the Commander-in-Chief, and the commu- nication to which I now allude, is the only one I ever received on the subject. Here Captain Burns addressed the Court, and begged to bring under their notice, the inconsistency which evidently ap- peared to exist between the evidence which Major Peters had given, and the tenor of the communication which he (Major P.) ad received from the Adjutant-General, and which had just been read by the Judge' Advocate. The former goes to shew that Major P. knew nothing of the complaint against Captain B. pre- vious to the meeting of Field Officers at Colonel Drury's house» while the latter manifestly proves that the complaint against Captain B. to the Commander-in-Chief, was made both by him- self and Colonel Love. — He, therefore, openly charged Major Peters with prevarication. The Court was afterwards addressed by Adjutant-General Shore. He stated that it was highly improper lor the prisoner Captain Burns to charge an Officer of such high standing as Major Peters was with prevarication, and that he did consider it his duty to request of the Court, that the prisoner should not in futu-e take such liberties with an officer of Major Peters* rank. Captain Burns then addressed the Court, requesting that Co- lonel Shore should be called to order, when the President told Colonel Shore that the Court were to judge in this case, and would not be directed by him. Here considerable confusion too!; place in the Court, arising from the adilrcsses of the defendant and prosecutor. The Judge Advocate then expressed a wish to be allowed to m-EXAMiNE the last witness (Major P.) ^ , Q.' Mijor Peters, — you stated in your cross -examination by ./ '.. . . :,;' ■ . ■ -■ -■ , ] •. 15 ^'{,- ', . , -• , Captain Burns the prisoner, t)iat you did not consider Iiitn as under an arrest relative to the Court at Colonel Drury's — I want to know if you wish to give any farther information on that subject? A. I do. — I have before stated that at the time Captain and Adjutant Burns attended ^t Colonel Drury's, it did appear that it was tb answer to charges made by Colonel Love, of the na- ture of which charges 1 had no knowledge, until I saw them there. — Some time after that period, in consequence of a com- munication having been received by me from His Excellency, respecting the charges against Captain Burns, I directed a let- letter to His Excellency in reply. Several of the Members . ' Q. Do you belong to the 1st Battalion City Militia ? A. I do, ' •/ . - Q. "What is your rank ? ' ■ '^•' ^ *" A. Captain and Adjutant. < Q. How long have you held that situation ? . A. About three years, but haveheld the Adjutancy only since April last. Q. Did you at any time, and when acting as Adjutant, com- municate .to Captain Burns of your Battalion his appointment to a company? *1 I '/: Bl 16 r x n ,'» A. On the 11th July last, I received an order from Major Peters, arranging different officers to tlieir respective compa^ nies.— In that order Captain Buri^ was attached to No. l Bat>* talion Company. On the iHst of August I received an order from Major Peters to furnish Captain Burns with a Muster Roll of No. I company. -^ Q. Did you in ptirsuance ofniat order present that Muster Roll to Captain Burns ? A. 1 did. — Upon Captain Bums looking at it he told me Mar jor Peters must send it oflitially. — In consequence of this an- , swer, I wrote to Major Peters and hiformed him thereof. [Here the Judge Advocate handed Adjutant Robirtson a pa- per, and put the following questions.] Q. Is that the report you made to Major Peters on the occa- sion ? A. That is my writin.'x. . ' * . * *. '*.^ Q. Does that report contain a corx'cct statement of the trans- action ? . . I . A. It does. Q. Do you know whether Captain Burns took command of that or any other compnny subsequent to that order ? A. He did not to my i.riowleclge. Q. If he had done so, would not you, as AJjutanl, hava known it ? A. I certainly should, but C;iptain Burns might have put up a notice without my knowleil^as Q. Did you receive an ore! r from Major Peters ordering the companies out for drill and liKspettion r* A. I did. Q. Did Captain Burns in obedicnco to that order call out and assemble his company for drill, and in other' respects com- ply with the terms of that order ? "« ' T A. Certainly he did not appear on die ground to take com- mand of that company on either of the days ortlered. Q. Do you know of his doing any act as captain of a compa- ny in obedience tp that order ? . *•' ' , »; . • •'»• - w',* A. I do not. Q. Did you receive a letter from Major Peters directing you to order I^icutenant Roberts to take command of Captain Burns' company ? ' v. jl. A. I did. Q. Do you know of any other matters relative to the char- ges now exhibited against tlie prisoner, besides those which have already been adverted to ? .- » ^ A. I do not recollect of any. cliar- Avhich 17 ' Cross-examintd by Captain Bums. Q. Did you not present the Muster Roil (alluded to) on the Ist of September to Captain Burns, in the Public Market Square ? A. I did,-^I had been at "Captain Burn's Stor** ^^revibusly, but he was not in. Q. On your presenting the Muster Roll to Captain Burns, did he not request you to present his compliments to Major Peters, and to say to him that he (Captain B.) would not receive any paper on Militia business unless it were officially addressed to him by the commanding Officer ? A. He might have done so. I do no recollect. Q. Did Captain Burns manifest a spirit of contempt towards you, or did j^ou at any time observe him to do so towards Ma- jor Peters? s ^ . ^ A. I did not. • ■ ' ' ' . |^: • ' Re'Cxaminedhij the Judge Advocate. ■ > •' • Q. Is not the Adjutant of the Battalion the proper channel through which orders are conveyed to officers ? '" A. I have always understood him to be so. Q. When you presented the Muster Roll to Captain Bums, did you not do so in the capacity of Adjutant ? A. I did. ■ *;^ " Q. Were the orders appointing Captain Burns to the coni- mandj^* a company sent to him through the same channel ' as the M^ter Roll was sent ? A. They certainly were not. — The order appointing Captain Burns to a company appeared in a Newspaper. — The Mustef Roll I handed to him myself. Q. W^as the order appointing Captain Bums to a company prior to the date of his being handed the Muster Roll ? A. It was. — The order appeared on the 30th of August, but I suppose that the Printer had altered the date of it, to suit that of his paper. — The order was dated 1 1th July, and piri>» lished in the City Gazette on the former day. ^ / .4 Here Captain Burns presented to the Court, a copy of the New-Brunswick Courier, dated 14fth July, containing a copy of the order referred to by Adjutant Robinson as having been published in the City Gazette of the SOth of August.— -If was headed "Miutia Orders" and signed "6^ Command, George D. Robinson, Adjutant." * MILITIA ORDERS. '^* The Officers belonging to the First Battalioa City Militia, are aUached for duty to th« fgllowigg Companies : Captain Tliomas Barlow, 1 ■ -^ [ «'"'•;•■<" * LiQutcnant Thomas T. Hanford, > Artillery Company ■ „ George Walerberry, ) i ' ':J •*#. :7 \ ^ K 18 r > -^ :^j -'S Captain William Seeullar, > Lisutanant Charles Drury, > Gronadiar Compasj. „ Alexander M'Grotty, ) Captain Lewis Burns, Lieutenant John J. Roberts, „ William Hutchinson Captain E. Bariow, jun Lieutenant M. Hcnnigar. „ David J. Merr Captain Daniel Jordan, Lieutenant E. J. Jarvis „ W. y. Thcall Captain James Kirk, ' Lieutenant N. Disbrow, „ E. J. Budd, : Captain John Smyth, Lieutenant William Morritt, „ Henry Gault, ,i Daniel Smith, i' No. 1, Battalion Company. rritt, > 11. > No. 2, Battalion Company. *» V . No. 3, Battalion Company. No. 4, Battalion Company. No. 5, Battalion Company. •/':.:M ■f* Lieutenant T. L. Nicholson, >No. 6, Battblion Company.^ rio, > Captain John Kinnear, , T. L. Nichi H. N. H. Lugrijj Captain Thomas Nisbet, J t «ft wi.nu r^„„,mmm ■•''■^' ' Lieutenant John Robertson, 5 ^«'^^''"''*^°'"'""'- - '. ' CaptainR. W. Crookshank.jr.) " ■ ^ .- '- > '■'■^V/ '^ • ' ^ Lieutenant Thomas M'MacIun, j „•- «^„„,, ' ' ■■-■ ^' „, William O. Smith, ^ «•«« Company. > -^^ ".= .-.: . „ Stephen Jamos, J .,;'-'' i ,/ Royal African Staflf as before ordered. Agreeably to an Act of the General Assembly, passed on the I9th day of March, 1827, for regulating Uie Militia, as far as it respects the City of Saint John, Captaini and Officers Commanding Companies in the First Bat'alion City Militia, are hereby required forthwith to furnish Captain James O. Bctts,the Regimental Enrolling Officer, with correct lists of the persons belonging to their respective Companies at the time of the last General Inspection, including ail persons at that time belonging to their Com- panies and absent from duty. In all cases when the number exceed the complement allowed for any one company, the Captain or Officer commanding such company will select thu complement to com* podo their companies, and the remainder shall be considered as unattached but still be- longing to the First Battalion, and placed on thcRegimontal Enrolling Officer's liit, or attached to some other company in the First Battalion for duty as the Law directs. Captains or Officers commanding companies that are deficient in the proper comple- ment of men, may complete their companies from the Regimental Enrolling Officer's list of persons unattached to any particular company of the Battalion, and any persons un- attached, may, with tho consent of the Captain or other Officer, enrol themselves in any company so deficient in number, until the same is completed. By Command, . '. GEORGE D. ROBINSON, i4(//«/an^ ( taint John, N. B. 14th July, 1827. • , ■ ■.-, ^ :^j : Captain B. then addressed the Court at considerable length, remarking on the irregularity and impropriety of a Junior OflS- cer to appoint him to the command of a company, As an ap- pointment of this kind could only, according to Military regula- tions, proceed from the Commander-in-chief. The Court then ordered Captain Robinson to witbdrftw. •. ( :,»,..... 19 Here the case for the prosecution was closed, and Captain Burns was called upon by the Court to open his defence. Captain B. then stated that he trusted the Court by this time were well aware of the lameness of the evidence which had been adduced to* substantiate the charges, in this case preferred against him by Major Peters ; and that, in fact, no such char- ges should have come before them. He said he was far from being desirous of protracting the business of the Court, or of detaining its members in town by entering upon a lengthy defence, and indeed, from the nature of the charges themselves, he did not see any necessity for his doing so. — He hoped, how- ever, as he had to conduct his own cause himself, without the assistance of Legal or other advice, that the Court would in- dulge him with a day or two to prepare his defence. The Court was then cleared. On re-opening the door, the Court informed Captain Burns that he should* te allowed until 12 or 1 o'clock on Monday (this was Saturday,) for the purpose of providing the evidence which he intended to bring forward in liis vindication, -r ; v^r v .,; , ^^j Here the Court was interrupted by Adjutant-General Shore, whose feelings were evidently raisea to a high pitch of irrita- tion. He said he considered it as his duty as prosecutor ex officio^ to object to the granting of any indulgence in point of time to Captain Burns, as Captain B. had already unnecessari- ; ly and improperly occupied the time of the Court and delayed its proceedings. This conduct on the part of the Adjutant-General induced Captain B. again to address the Court. He expressed his astonishment that the respectable body of officers of which it was composed, would allow tiiemselves to be dictated to, by the prosecutor, after they had olready made up their minds to grant him one day's indulgence ; he therefore requested that Colonel Shore would be called to order. - ,' ' , . ,; .. The President then told the Adjutant-General, that the Court, not he, must be the judgeis of tlieir own proceedings. The Judge Advocate then, with a considerable degree of warmth, said, that he did not conceive that Captain Burns was on any account entitled to any forbearance on the part of the Court, ,and wished Captain B. to be directed by the Court to proceed upon his defence immediately. Captain Burns in reply said, that he conceived it highly im- proper for the Judge Advocate to attempt to direct the Court, or even to give his opinion upon the case at ^11 at that stage of - /' fl ( -It < ^ tlM buiineM, as he (thte Judge Advocate) could be coniidcred ■s acting in no other capacity than tliat of Servant of, or Ro« corder to, the Court. The Court was again cleared and a considerable space of time was taken up in deliberating with closed doors. On re- opening, the Judge Advocate directed Captain Burns to attend the Court on Monday at 10 o'clock, in order to enter on hli defence. ., - , . The Court tlien adjourned. ...V ' U On Monday at 10 o'clock, pursuant to adjournment, th* Court again met, and Captain Burns was called upon to pro- duce his witnesses for examination. I^ieutenant'Coloncl Drtiry xvas then sworn bt/ the Cowt, and ex- , amined by Captain Btirhs. ■ Q. Did you call upon Captain and Adjutant Burns on or about the 9th October, 1826, and state to liim that the Com- mander-in-Chief, in consequence of a complaint having beea made to him by the Inspecting Field Officer, Lieutenant-Color nel Love, against him the said Captain and Adjutant Burns, had ordered the Field Officers of the City and County Mihtia . to assemble at Colonel Urury's house for the purpose of in- v^tigating the said complaint. — And did you, when you then called, direct Captain and Adjutant Burns to consider himself under an arrest ? A. 1 recollect having received instructions from the Com- mander-in-Chief, directing mc to assemble the chief Officers of the Ciiy and County Militia, in order to take into consideration a certain complaint made to His Excellency respecting the con- duct of Captain and Adjutant Burns, by Colonel Love. Hav- ing notified those officers to meet at my house, I called on "Captain Burns and directed him also to appear at the meeting.— I am not quite certain, but I think it is probable I did say to Captain Burns, that he must consider himself under an arrest from that date. When the Officers met, a copy of the com- plaint was read to Ctvptain Burns. Captain Burns then asked whether he was to consider the present meeting a Court Mar- tial or ii Court of ICnnuiry — I told him I did not consider it ei- ther the one or th« other. He was then asl ced whether he pleaded Guilty or not Guilty to the charges the rein contained. He replied that he would frtead Not Guilty- -that he did not consider his conduct in re- ference t» the circumstances upon which the complaint wa« founded as in the (slightest degree impeachable, and requested *'t ■■ SI that an application should be made to the Commandef-ic- Chittf, to allow him a Trial by a General Court Martial. 1 forwarded this request to His Excellency accordingly. Captain Burns was then directed to withdraw. Q. Did tlie Commander-in-Chief ever grant that Cour| Mardal? A. No. Q. Do you recollect upon Captain and Adjutant Burns hav* ing called upon you on or about the I3th November, 182G, reporting to you the communication sent to him by Major Peters. And do you recollect Captain Burns requesting your opinion as to whether the Governor had power to displace him from the Adjutancy of the Battalion without the sentence of a Court Martial ? A. I recollect of such circumstances havipg taken place, out am not quite certain as to the date. I told him that in my opi- nion the Commander-in-Chief had power to displace any officer without the sentence of a Court Martial if he thought proper so to do. I even expressed a doubt as to whether Captain Bums could be considered an Officer in the Battalion of any rank after that date. Q. Did Captain Burns ask you whether you considered him an Officer of your Battalion, and did you not answer that as h« had been displaced as Adjutant he could no longer be consi* dered as being attached to the Battalion ? A. I do not recollect precisely, but it is very probable I did tell him that he could not be an Officer of the Battalion if he teas displaced as Adjutant; he ^having held the situation of Adjutant with the rank of Captain. ;• ' ^ .'-••' > ■ , '. ' .1', V. .. » ■-' • •*, ' f,-f u ^ Examined hf th^ Court. * '''- Q. Did you release Captain Burns from that arrest, undef which he was put to answer to the complaint which was prefer- ed against him at the meeting of Officers which took place at your house ? ' , . ,. u. A. I did not. ' ^ ' ' :^ ^ ' ■ Q. Did you ever issue an order publickly for Major Peter* to take command of the Battalion ? . ; , A. No. It is not usual in the service, the fiext senior officeii;- takes the command. Cross^eo^amined by the Prosecutor. Q. Did you issue a Regimental Order for the arrett of Captain Lewis Bm*ns? A. No. }- ^y^''\! ./> ■: '^;> .K- 4 ^'fl, ;;;«(*' il, s< I'- 1 I I I I '■ \ . Q. Is it not customary when an Officer is to be placed under an arrest for the Commanding Officer to issue an order to that effedt? A. No. But I beg leave by way of explanation to answer • this question more fully. The meeting of Field Officers at my house appeared to me to be one of rather a novel nature. I recollect that at the close of it, Captain Burns asked me whe- ther he should consider himself still under an arrest I told • '' him he should until further orders. I recollect also that Cap- tain Burns called upon me at the time he observed in the Newspapers a " Militia Order" dated the 14th July last, which contained his appointment to the command of No. 1 company, and the opinion I expressed to him on that occasion is still the same, viz : — That he could not be appointed to the *• command of a company without a General Order from the V *, . Commander-in-Chief to that effect. • Lieutenanl R. B, D. King, 2d Battalion City Militia, sxvorn by the Cmrty and examitied by.Cajitain BUrns. Q. Did you in reference to any particular meeting of officers • held in this place on or about the mouth of December, 1826, *' call upon Captain Burns? A. 1 did. If you will allow me gentlemen, I will tell you , , all about it. I was appointed one of the Managei's cf a Ball to ♦. be given by the Ofiicers of the City Militia on account of the '•^ 2d Battalion's having received from England a set of Colours. I asked Captain Burns if he would become a subscriber to the Ball. — He said he would. — Subsequently 1 had an interview with Major Peters, in the course of which, I mentioned to him the circumstance of my having requested Captain Burns to subscribe to the Ball List, when Major Peters informed me that Captain B. was no longer an Officer — that he was remov- ed from llie service. Cross-examined by the Court. ' ^ Q. Captain Burns belongs to the 1st Battalion, why was he , requested to become a subscriber to a Ball which appeared to have been given on account of circumstances in which the Ot- . ficcrs of the 2d Battalion were solely interested ? A. I must speak the truth, gentlemen. The Officers of the 2d Battalion are poor, and knowing that the Officers of the 1st . ^ Battalion were gentlemen could afford . Here the witness was interrupted in givinf^ his evidence by Captain and Adjutant Flaherty of the 2d Battalion, who oli- jected to the question and also to the answer which he was giv- ing ; and requested tliat neither the question nor tlie part of the u «.i was given to it, should be allowed to appear on th^ tace of the proceedings of the Court. Q. Did Cnptaiii Burns request you to bring him the Ball List in order tliat he might put his name to it? A. I^Ie did not. I had only called upon him for the purpoM of ascertaining whether he would sign it, if it were brought to him; and, as [stated before, he said he would. , 1^. Lieutenant-Colonel Love, srjoorn by the. Court, and examined by Captaiti Burns. ,. , Q. Were you Inspecting Field Officer of Militia in thii Province in the year 1826? ,. .. ^ A. I was. Q. Did Major Peters on the day of General Inspection of the City Militia in the year 1826 make any complaint to you regarding the conduct of Captain and Adjutant Bums? A. Major Peters did state to me the circumstance of Adju- tant Burns having dismissed the battalion on the first day of Drill at an earlier hour than was considered necessary under the plea that the weather was wet and unfit for Drilling. Ma- jor P. at the same time expressed his regret that the battalion on this account wr 3 deprived of the benefit of my instructions. Q. 'Did Major Peters inform you that Captain Burns had endeavoured to dissuade the junior Officers of the 1st battalion from attending the Officers' Annual Dinner, and to breed a party amongst the Officers of the Regiment? A. I was told, but cannot recollect by whom, that Captain and Adjutant Burns had endeavoured to persuade the junior Officers to absent themselves from dinner. I think Major Pe- ters was present when this circumstance was mentioned: I certainly did not hear that Captain Burns did endeavour to breed a party in the Regiment. Here Captain Burns closed his case, stating as his opinion* that the evidence of Colonel Drury alone was sufficient to ex- culpate him from being guilty of the charges for which he had been held under an arrest, and for which he had now stood his trial ; and therefore considered it unnecessary to detain the Court by calling any more witnesses. — In the course of Captain B's closing address to the Court he referred to the nature of the evidence which had been Jl)rought before it, and also to the circumstances which led to his trialy-^a detail of which will appear in the Appendix. f : ••«r' WSBS . ? :*! ' ..,^^' • j.y ■i'Jy.r,. ,.■,,..,, ,/' /^ ■■.:j<^.-^": \? ■•-",:/ m'» ^'jC ■■'■■' '. ■* m I' Vi ►(fi*t' :V"*^i '■"■-■-;> .;■" fi '^-"^ ! '■ ^:, >- »* -.'.. c: V:;'.v^;'.,~ J ; I '•i i:;./-; 1 \.H.-> i'-'^' .'t'U:>'*f" I ''^%k. * 1 '•;* ■- i \ .l^^V^- • S •, -*- j„ . •» '. J iPW m < 11^ yv '% r"';- -''-y: ,v ' . --«.'. ..J,:.. . APFSMrnxst:. -^ JLN order the more satisfactorily to go into the history of th« circumstances connected with the proceedings of the Court Mar- tial referred to, in the preceding Minutes, it may not be un- necessary to give the reader a brief sketch of ;!ie several inci- dents which nave led»to my late standing in the Militia, from the time I joined that Corps as an officer. In the year 1815, I was solicited by Major John Ward, who then had the command of the Saint John City and County Militia, to accept of the situation of Adjutant, with the rank of Ensign. I complied with this request, and received my ap- pointment from the Commander-in-Chielj accordingly. At thi^ time, and down to the year 1821, the Saint John Militia con- sisted of only one Battalion. At the latter period, it was, how- ever, divided into two distinct Battalions— one called the City Militia, the other the County Militia : tlie former was consi- dered as No. 1 Battalion, the latter as No. 2. When this ar- rangement took place, Major Ward retired, and No. 1 Batta- lion was put in charge of Major Drury, who hs^d formerly been Captain in the Army, — and No. 2 Battalion, was placed under the command of Major Simonds. In consequence of my having been previously attached to the old Battalion, as Adjutant, Mis Excellency was pleased to appoint hie, in ihixt Ccipiicitv, to No. I B;'.ttaliori, with the rank, of Captain. Tliis v>-a:-i rather an uiiprecedoatcd aj)pointment, as no instaivce, that 1 know oU exists in tiie sttiiidiug army, of an Adjutant holdiM>.>' a rank higher than that of Lieutenant:-— this deviation, however, from the p;cneral system, vus judged proj)er, in as far as it enabled me to have additional control over the jiiuior oflicers on driU diiys. "Shortlv after thi';, the City Batt.'.lion was ajniin divided — one pa''t being called No. 1, and the otii'jr No. 3. M.ijor Wheeler was aj>p(ii'.Uod to the conitnand of No. 8 Battalion. No ofiici' general altenitions took place in the Siilnt .folni Militia, until .f!)e year 1821. when His Hc-cccllency Sir Howard Douglas, placed himself Colonel oi'tlic lirst Battalion City and County Militia. and, at the same time, jironiotcd Majors Drury and Simondf i"; P / ■^ f6 i i •' I m '■'■^i^ \ to the rank of Lieutenan|-CoIonel. At this time also, the Com- mander-in-Chief issued a General Order, styling No. 1, a Light Infantry Battalion, and expressed a wish, that the Officers .should equip themselves accordingly ; which, as the Militia mania raged pretty extensively, was attended to without delay. His Excellency's desire was very much promoted, in this instance, by the appointment of Captain Peters, in 1824, as Majoi' of the Light Infantry Battalion ; for, with a zeal, laudable surely in itself, and truly becoming an Officer holding the rank to which he was then promoted, he appeared to spare neither time nor expense, in uniforming himself, and in persuading the Officers under him to do so also. — It is unnecessary here to lake notice of the general opinion which now exists, not only in the public mind, but also in the minds of those officers themselves, regarding the wisdom by which they were then directed, as well as the great utility of the measure itself. — One thing is certain, a number of them would not at the present moment allow themselves to be so easily cajoled out of £4iO or .£50 for a Military dress as they then ordered. Bdt Major Peters' exertions were not merely confined to out- ward show, they were applied also to the actual discipline of the Battalion generally — more particularly so, as regarded himself and the other officers.— rin 1825 he called upon me, requesting me, as drilling officer, to devote a certain number of hours every week to the instructing of the officers in military evolutions. To this, however, I objected — and I believe, from that moment, an unpleasant feeliprT was excited in the breast of the Major to- wards me. — I objected to his requisition on two grounds, name- ly, that I never understood or acknowledged him to have the cont' mand of the Batalion,* and, that the loss of time which would be necessary Ibr nVc to suffer, was neither required by the Mili- tia Law, nor consistent with my necessary avocations. — I might add also; that I could not see what benefit could arise from it, my opinion being, that any temporary drilling is ineffectual, unleas in the immediate prospect of going into actual service. No misunderstanding, however, of an overt description had, at this time, taken place, either between myself and the Major, or between myself and any other officer belonging to the Batta- lion ; and 1 believe I can appeal to every officer under whom I served, from the time I was appointed Adjutant, down to the uonlh of October, 1826, — that I faithfully attended to the dis- ^'large of my duty in that capacity, when the circumstances oc«» iT'id whi'h lad to the Major's making a regular complaint of, ,i ha never was GazettaJ u Commtnilins Officeri and, as I knaw tb*t Colontl -•1: \ ■ •- » \ •7 the Coin- No. 1, a B Officers tia mania ay. His instance, jw of the surely in to which time nor ! Officers notice of •lie mind, •ding the he ^reat umber of 'es to be is as they d to out- ne of the I himself questing irs every olutions. noment, f ajor to- , name- the com- h would le Mili- I might from it, (fectual, rvice. on had. Major, Batta- vhom I to the the dis- ices oc^ aint of, It ColontI wtjat he called, my misconduct, to the Inspecting Field Officer, Colonel Love. — These circumstances I will now relate. In the month of August, 1826, the City Militia was ordered out, according to Law, for Drill and Inspection, on or about the 6t4j or 7th of that monlli : — The 1st Battalion assembled ac- cordingly about eight or nine o'clock in the morning ;-^cause« of a fVhatever effect this conversation might have had on the feel- irigs of Major Peters, it was evident that on the part of Colonel Love, it did not tend to exalt me in his estimation: — And I be- lieve, that his subsequent orders to the Battalion, will bear me •ut in this o|)inion. . • •* mgs o] iaspec Immeclrately after this, the three Battali6ns,th6n dh ihegfoatS, were ordered to form a hollow square. This was done for th« purpose of publicly reprimanding Captain Kinnear's Company, for having appeared on the ground without their uniform dress 6n the second day of drill. — The relation of this circumstance, however, is not intended to throw any reflection on the men be- longing to that company, there previously having existed be- tween them and their Captain (sanctioned also by the command- ing officer of the Battalion) a written contract, that, provided they should have the use of arms, on any particular day in the year on which they might make a recjuest to that effect, they would goto the expente of clothing themselves in military uniform — but as this had been refused them in the absence of Captain Kinnear, by Major Peters, they did not conceive themselves bound to attend (Irill in any other dress than that pointed out by the Law' — neither were they. On this occasion, no officer be- longing to the company being present to take command of it* after they were brought in front of the Battalions and repriman- ded by the Inspecting Field Oilicer ; the non-commissioned ofHcers were called out in front of the company, — ordered to tak^ off their ca})g, and to beg Major Peters' pardbn, — it being sup- posed by the Inspecting Field Olticer and Major P. that the^ had been instrumental in pre venting the men from wearing uni- form oiv that day. With this order, the non-commissioned offi- cers peremptorily refused to comply ; stilting at the same time, that if they were sensible of being guilty of any misconduct to- wards an officer, they were perfectly tlisposed to make any rea- sonable apology; — but, as in this instance, they did not conceive themselves to be in fault, they considered any acknowledgment to that effect .altogether unnecessary and improper. This order of Colonel Love' =, appeared to me to overstep theb'^unds of the discipline prescribed by the Militia Laws of the Province, and I could not therefore refrain from expressing to the non-commis* sioned officers of that company, and to the Battalion generally, the impropriety there would be in obeying it. I took the op-^ portnnity also, at the same time, of stating publicly there, that I would not give my countenance to such arbitrary measures as the Inspecting Field Officer and Major Peters appeared to be desirous of introducing. I added also, that, that wasthelast oc- casion on which I should do the duty of an officer so long as Colonel Love and Major Peters had any controul over the Bat- talion, unless called so to do in case ofan actual in vasiou. With this 1 bid the Gentlemen good morniilg, and left the field. My observations on this occasion, seemed to have excited feel* ings of a very unpleasant nature towards me in the breast of the liispecting Field Officer, and in that of Major Peters j for on » •'A ■* % I I it ' the 9th day of October ensuing, Colonel Drury tailed upon me, and informed me, that a complaint had been made against tne by Colonel Love, to the Commander-in-Chief, on account of my conduct towards him (Colonel Love) on the day of In- spection — the 14th August last ; and al'^o, for having diismissed the Battalion at too early an hour on the first day of drill, — ^that I must therefore consider myself under an arrest, for that His Excellency had given directions foi* the assembling of the Field Officers at his (Colonel Drury's) house on the 11th, to investi- gate the complaint. 1 told Colonel Drury, that as the matter ap- peared to be assuming an arbitrary aspect, I should require him to I'urnish me with a vvritlen nolilication to atto.nd the meeting of Field Oflloers, and also a copy of the complaint to be preter- rcd against me on that day. He accordingly wrote me a note on the 9th, enclosing a copy of Colonel Love's communication to the Commander-in-Chieli containing the complaint against me. The following arc copies of these documents : — Sir, Saint John, 9th OcTonnn, 1826. A com;)lainl having; been made to tho Comfii. nJer-ip-C!iief, by Lioutenant-Colonel Love, Inspecting Field O.Ticer of Militia in iliis l^iovincc, aj/ninst you. His Excol- laocy his directcil the F!«iJ Officers of the City and County Militia should assemhle on Wednesday the lltli instant, at twelve o'clock, at Lieutenant-Colonel Drury's Houric, to investigate lliis matter aad to rejjort to liiin thereon. — Vou arc hereby ordor- •d to attend this meeting. To Captain and Arljutant BrnNS, \ Ist Battalion City Militia. 5 I havo the honor to he Sir, Your obedient Servant, CHARLES DRURY, lAeuUnant-Colonel Commanding City Militia. ^ I, Sir, (Copy.) Saint John, September 26th, 1826. on t h i } m * It Is with much regret, I have to make a complaint against an Officer of the Militia, particularly as I have in every instance, ex'opt tho present, met with the ino^t cordial support from every individual iri my endeavours tii improve their discipline and appear- ance ; but as it is impossible that I can pi?rlbrin the duty imposed upon me by lh« Commandcr-in-(;l)iff if I am subjected to the liiyhly insubordinate conduct I havo to complain of; 1 feel myself called upon to (i)rwurvithout which my appoint- ment can be of no use. Having in conrirmiiy with the .';4th section of the Militia Law, received His Exsel- Icncy'.s insiruclioTKs to jiipcrintcnd the Drill and Instruction of the Militia, I repaired for that purpose to the parade ground of tin l.^t Haitalion of tho City Regiment, but found upon my arrival, that Ihc Adpjtant, Captaiu Burns, had, in tho unavoidabia absence of the ('oinmandinr; Offioer, laUou upon linnself to distniss them, upon tlip. plea as I understood, of the wcailior beiii? wet, altluiiiijli it waS by no means such, as to prevent the IJattalionfrom parading, ("pon the General Inspection of the Battalion on the 14th August, on the sands, Mnjor Peters, the (-'ommanding Oiriccr,c.\pr» th«ir prirttttt Dill dayt : had no command over them, my duty being merely to inepeet them, when they were paraded for that purpose. This, as far as 1 can recollect, waa the substance of what ho said, though 1 am not quite positive of the exact words, but his conduct was so iiiHubordinato and so unofficer-like as to draw down thfr^istpproba* tion of all who heard liim, and obligud ine lo command him to be silent. It is unnecessary for me to point out to you, the danj^rous tendency of such conduct, striking at once at the root of discipline, but will only add, that in addition (o what I have been already obliged to call your attention, I was informed that after the parade, this officer not satisfied with the mischief he had already done endeavoured to persuade the officers, particularly the younger ones of the Battalion, to absent themselves from tb« annual Dinner, (|>u( without effect) thereby doing all in bis power to cr«iite t jmrty ia the Regiment, I have the honor to be. Sir, »• ' Your most Obedient, '' ^ ■ • - ^ - ■, ' "' y, ' •• Huuibie Servant, ' » JAMHS F. LOVE, 1 .. . , ■' Licut.-Col. and Jua2)ectiiig Field Officer. I attended the meeting of Field Officers on the 1 1th, the pro- ceedings of which, need not be detailed; as they come out in the course of Colonel Drury's examination ; I may however state, that as I observed the very persons with whom the complaint had originated, sitting there, in the capacity of judges or inves- tigators of the same, I objected to the whole afiair, as being ir- regularly conducted, and requested Colonel Drury to apply to the Commander-in-Chief for a General Court Martial. I was accordingly discharged for that day ; but was directed to consi- der myself still under an arrest, until further orders. Nothing fiirther transpired, relative to this business, until the 10th day of November, when I received a communication from Major Peters, enclosing, what he called a Militia General Ordbr, The copy of the order appears in the minutes of the Court Martial. The following is a copy of the Major's note to me on the occasion : — SAINT JOHN, N. B. November lOlh, \826. Sir, — The Adjutant-General of Militia Forces dirocis me to acquaint you with a Militia General Order, under date of the 26th of October, 1S26, a copy of which I have the honor to enclose. With respect, I am your obedient Servant, BENJAMIN L. PETERS, Major Commanding \st Battalion, City Militia, St. John, N. B. To Captain LEWIS BURNS, Isl Batt. ) City Militia, St. John. J * , ; On my receiving the copy of the Adjutant-General's commu- nication reft^rred to in the above note, I considered myself no longer an officer of the Militia ; not that I conceived the docu- ment in itself regular, it having never been Gazetted as a Mili- tia General Order ; but 1 felt pleased to find that I had some- thing in the shape of an excuse for retiring from the service.— The reader, by referring to the Minutes of the Court Martial, w ill see that the instrument is only a private letter from the Ad- jutant-General to his friend Major Peters — and not a General Order. , >^ - J ii d« r - u As ftppetn on evidence in the Minutes, I had b conversntiofi with Colonel Drury regarding this letter; when he stated expli- citly to me, that if I considered the order as proceeding from the Commander-in-Chief, I could no longer consider myself an officer of the Militia.* I went away satisfied with this aclvice or opinion, and never expected to have any thing more to do with militia affiiirs: — Nor did I liear or see any tiling more on the subject, until some time in the month of April,. I887,when I ob- served in some of the newspapers, a " Militia Gen&ral Oit- t>ER>" which contained the following notice : • • * . " Head- Quarters, FrcdeTieton, i 2(ith March, 1827. MILITIA GENERAL ORDERS. Bit Excellency is pleased to make the fuilnwin;; Promotions, Sac. :— \st Hattalion St. John City Militia. Captaia Gawge D. Robinson, to be Aiijutant, vice Burns. Bn Command, « GEORGE SHORE, A. G. M. J r. On reading this order, I must confess I was verv much sur- prised — I do not mean to say disappointed, or grieved ; but, as Colonel Drury had promised to apply for a General Court Martial, I had always indulged the hope that I should have a fair trial — and the reason why thi;* was denied me, I have never been able to find out. My readers therefore must, like myself, he left to form their own conjectures on taking a general vievV of all the circumstances connected with this allair. I again cal- led on Co'ionel Drury, being doubtful whether the Governor himself had power to deprive me of my rank in the Militia, un- less by sentence of a Court Martial. — I wastidiy .satisfied, how- ever, from what Colonel Diury said, that he had that power, and of course coiisidcrofl iDvseJf from t'lat time as havinff no connection with the Militia — at ail even;;-) not .as an o.'Iicer. In the nioiill' oiJuly, howevor, I observed in the New- Brunswick Courier of the 1 kb of that month, vn .■Id'.vi/isemi'nti {.I regular order it certninly wns not) her'le;! Mii.itia OuDEns, nnd signed " George D. Robiiisoii, Adjrian!," as referred to in pages 17 and IB. t again called on Colonel Drury, who expressed his opinion to be the same as when I fi)rniorly called upon him, and the same also as lie gave in Iiis c\ido'iCc betorc the Court, viz. that if I were dls^: laced as AtijUtuUt, I couid no longer be an oflicer.f *I always consi.!nrc;I Coloiiei Pr.;ry(o]io tlio Cotiviiaii(ii;ii; Ofiiccr of the B:itta- lioQ, and of conrao the proper jicrsori lo apply to in nil mnitcrs ichiiiii',' to it- ' 1 1 «oW Colonel J> u -y, I Iiad Utidnrstooil tliat, tlimv.th ilii-i iiniiro \v;is sijncil by Ail- jiit:i-^t Rolji::^on, and ■* Oy Command''' also, that the whula taatier ItaJ ori^inaieJ with Major P. hitnielf. kingi wrin/ S3 sutioti expU- frora self an ice or with on the n I ob- L Oft- eton, ; M. r. ch 9ur- but, as il Court have a ve never J myself, ral vievtr gain cal- lovernor litia, un- ed, how- It power, iving no <;er. le New- t'errud to s opinion and the , viz. that 1 oftk'or.f It ;iancil by Ail- iginaied will> He then said, tl»at Major P. certainly had not the power to appoint me Captain of a Company in the Militia, — that this ap- pointment rested exclusively with the Commarider-in-Chief, — and that, in the eml^ Major Peters would make himself ajjpear very ridiculous, in having attempted to appoint any one to tiie command of a Company, \,ho held no rank as an officer be- Jongin": to the Battalion. * The circumstatices, however, connected with this notification, must not be here overlooked, as they were the fruitful source from whence all the subsequent trouble I have been put to, has proceeded. I feel well convinced, in my own mind, that Major Peters himself was aware, that he could not, under the circumstances in which I was then placed, appoint me to the com- mand of a company. But he had his own ends to answer ; and 1 believe, in this instance, as in other instances also, which have lately been brought to public notice, regarding his con- duct when holding an official situation, he shews very little re- spect for propriety, or regard to principle, — his object generally is, to gain his point, whether it be right or wrong ; and that no measure, however arbitrary, should be left unattempted, in order to accomplish it. , It so happened, that Major Peters had a nephew — a thriving sprig of the Law, and practising as Barrister in the Supreme Court. This young man had the managenent of a Suit in Court, (the nature of which it is not necessary to mention here,) upon which I was summoned as an evidence. , He had the ■wrong side, however, and, with a view, I suppose, of shewing his abilities, employed his caustic powers in throwing out re- flections on the conduct of Burns & Jordan. -, In doing so, he made use of insinuations, which 1 feit disposed to view in alight, rather bordering on implications against -my personal character. — I thereforetold him plainly, in open Court, that, so soon as an adjournment took place, I should do myself the pleasure of ta- king steps of a retaliatory kind — in jilain terms, that I would wring his nose. — Whether 1 faithfully redeemed this pledge or not, it is of little consequence now to say. — I believe the Public are perfectly satisfied upon this point. — These circum- stances took place about the month of September. In the month of September, an order appeared in the City Papers, appointing a Court Martial to be held in this place, for the trial of Major Scott, of the Westmorland County Militia, on the 4th of October next ensuing. — In the interim, howev- er, I received a notification from Adjutant-General Shore, to attend that Court Martial,to answer to certain charges, (a copy of which he enclosed) that would then be preferred against me. * ■' E ■ V ' >f ■ !>•■ A similBr noUce wm also sent me by ttie Judge AdvocatA-^Tli« Ibllowing are copies of these notifications :— i life Sir, HxiD Quarters, FllKDeitioToir, 19th Septxmbee, 1827. ^IM cMHqatno* of (he hichljr aontflinptuoin andfimproper conduct manifeitad by jrett in refuting to roemre the Muaisr Roll of the Bsttalion Company No. 1, of the lit Bat* Uiion St John City IVIilitia to. which you belong, when handed to you by Captain anit Adjutant Robinson, by order of Major Peters commanding ;— 1 ha«a received Ilia Ex- (ellenoy'a commands to acquaint you, that you are to consider yourself undor arrest at large, and to hold yourself in readiness to be tried by a General Court Martial, which ia ordered to assemble at Saint John on Tuesday the 30th day of October next. Tou will therefore, furnish me, without delay, with the names of auoh persona aa nay be required by you, as witnesses in your defence. £ncIoMd ia a copy of the charges exhibited against you. > SJl hit £4Ct//lRC)|> Commemd, GEORGE SHORE, Adjutant-General, MtUHu Forteu. Captain Li WIS BDitifS,! • let Battalion St. John > • City Militia. J \ '' Sir, Frkderioi i>if, 9tb Octobbr, 1827. I herewith transmit to you ft copy of the charges which have been exhibited againat you, and handed to me by Lieutenant Colonel Shore, the Adjutant-Genot'al, and on which you will be tried by the General Court Martial, ordered to assemble on Tuesday theSOth day of this month, at Saint John, At elevon o'clock in the forenoon. I also send you a list of the Members of the Court Martial, any of whom you will have a right to object to, at the time of assembling, for good cause shewn to the >ati»> faction of th<) other Members of the Court. I also send you a list of the witnesses who will be produced against you on the part of the prosecution, and it will be necessary that you transmit to mo, with as little delay as possible, a list of any evidence that you intend producing in your defence nt tho trial. You will please to observe also, that all witnesses must attend in person, as no affida- vita can be received in evidence on either side. Lieutenant-Colonel Shore, as Adjutant-General of the Militia Forces, will appear ai the Prosecutor, by order of His Excellency the Coramander-in-Cliicf. You will, of course, take care to be in attendance, and in readiness for your trial at th« time appointed. I am. Sir, your most obedient Servant, GEORGE FREDERICK STREET. To Captain Lewis Burks, of the 1 Jvuigt jidvoeiftt. In Battalion, of the Saint John > Begiment City Militia. ) ' - On my receiving the above Letters, I was surprised ; hav- ing understood, as I have before stated, that in the opinion of the Commanding Officer of the Battalion to which I had for- merly been attached, that I was no longer an officer in the Militia Service. — It is true, I had never been released from the arrest which Colonel Drury had directed me to consider myself under, ** until farther orders'* ; but I certainly did conceive, that if any farther orders had been necessary, enough of time had elapsed to allow the appointment of the Court Martial which I had requested, and the bringing forward before it, the charges, which were made against me before the Officers, who met at Colonel Drury 's house. Having read over the charges for which I was summoned to answer at the Court Martial, I found tbe^r were quite different ^ from those contAined in the oomplaint preferred tgalnst mo t^ the meeting of officers, at Colonel Drury's house. — But the cir* cuinstance$ which I have stated of a family nature between my- self and Mi^or Peters, will partly, I believe, account for my be- ing brought forward for trial on this occasion. Major Peters wall knew, that notwithstanding the appearance of a Militia. Ohder m July, I would not retain the appointment of Captain ofa company to serve under him ; he, therefore, with the view of giving me as much trouble as possible, and knowing that a Cojurt Martial would be held for the trial of Major Scott in Oc- tober, sent me the Muster Roll of No. 1 company, and upon uiy refusing to accept it, founded the charges against me, which appeared in the minutes of the Court J knew well from the nature of the charges, that the case was one of a frivolous and vexatious kind : — I knew also, that no power existed, that could then compel me to appear at any Court Martial as an officer: — I was well aware also, that the individu- als whom I observed notified to be members of that Court, were not compeient to try me. But as a great deal of excitement had been created in tlie public mind, regarding the whole of this bu- siness, and, being determined that nothing on my part should appear, that might lead any one to believe, that I wished to avoid a public mvestigation of my conduct, I submitted to be tried. ' Having thus given a statement of the circumstances that led to my appearuig at the Court Martial, which, at the time it was appointed, was intended for the purpose of trying Major Scott only ; it only remains for me now, to make some brief re- marks ou the characters of the witnesses, and the nature of the evidence given by them. But, bcibre entering into this detail, it might be well to state, that when tlic warrant for holding the Court was read, my name did not aj^tpear in it at all ; tlie impression on my mind therefore was, that the whole of the proceedings instituted against me, was a huddled up piece of business, arising altoge- ther from personal feeling on the part of the Adjutant-General, the Inspecting Field Officer, and Major Peters, — the two for- mer Gentlemen, in my opmion, having been induced by the in- genuity of the latter, to become parties in his cause, and to use their influence and authority, in aiding and assisting him to- wards the accomplishment of that base, mean, and revengeful design, which had rankled in his bosom, ever since the month of October 1826, — nor has any thing since occurred to alter this opinion. With regard to Major Shore's conduct on this occasion ; I undurstood that the Court Was furnished by him with stationary, y^equtsite for the purpose of minuting down its proceedings. As i * i I was ifnsible that the Adjutnnt-General was well paid from the Prpvince Chest, for any expence he might be at, in the con- ducting of military affairs, 1 made a re(juest to the Court, that I also should be supplied with paper, pens, and ink, to be used in conducting my defence ; to this, however, the Adjutant-Ge- neral objected, and, notwithstanding th^ President having given his opinion that 1 should be so furnished, they were not allowed iiie. This circumstance, though triflinj' in itself, (for the expence of stationary did not weigh in my mmd at the time) convinced me as to the nature of the Adjutant-General's feelings towards nie, and, as to the conduct which I might expect from him, during the course of the trial. ". It is a matter well known to the Public, that he receives from the Province .^'100 a year to defray the expenccs incurred by him in the performance of his duty as Adjutant General, — one part ofthat duty certainly is, the keeping of a GeneualOrderly Book ; but it was evident, that whatever he did with his salary, no part of it was expended in furnishing himself with a book of that description. To all ni^n any way acquainted with military aflairs, this circumstance will appear rather strange, as the Ge- neral Orderly Book is the only authentic record which can be referred to, on all occasions, with respect to the names of olhcers, their rank, appointments, promotions, dates of commission, &c. &c. But however strange this may appear, it is nevertheless true, that when called upon by me to protluce to the Court the General Order for the appointment of Major Peters to the com- mand of tile 1st Battalion City Milita, he could neither show (although he said he was in possession of it) the original order itself, nor the General Orderly Book containing a copy thereof. Only one glance at the manner in whicli the Adjutant-Gene- ral made his replies to my questions, is sufficient to convince any one, that, he himself clearly sfiw the point at which 1 was aiming, and therefore evaded comino'to it. — It was, whether Ma'or Pe- ters were appointed or not to ifie Command of \he 1st BaUalion ; this appointment, however, i e ingeniously avoided giving any direct evidence about, being no doubt conscious of Major Pe- ter's never having received it. But neglect of duty, on the part of the Adjutant-General, was not confined to this instance only, in not having provided him- self with an Orderly Book; for, upon his being asked whether, any ordei'for the displacement of Captqin Burns, as Adjutant, ever appeared in any newspaper, he answered, — that it had not. Now it has generally been considered necessary to insert all General Militia Orders in the Royal Gazette, and, in fact they are i;ot considered as being put regularly in operation until this oath Mil red this " Oi I do interi ongu ther Com Tl tei-s. with my shou ■.\^h «« ? be done. Ttie Adjutant-General himself, in the course of car* rying on his prosecution against Mnjor Scott, declared upon his oath, that Militia General Orders were to be considered valid and sufiiciently made public, when they were published twice in the above mentioned paper. Was it not naturally to be inferred from this statement, that if such orders were «o^so published, they could not 1)2 considered valid ? — The reason assigned by the Adjutant-Genernl for my displacement not having been regu- larly published, was, that it was suppressed from motives of delicacy. It would really appear that the Gentleman's conduct, from the commencement, was altogether of a delicate nuture, and that his dvlicate feelings, even up to the present moment, had never forsaken him, for it was at this stage of his examina- tion that he appeared to be so overcome by his delicate sensa- tions, (no doubt on my account)as to beg of the Court to be in- dulged with a chair. Poor man, his legs which I have under- stood, have assisted in fu?iningi on several occasions, failed him on this, when only put in requisition to support him im a stand- ing posture. But not only did the Adjutant General's legs fail him on this occasion, but his recollection also seemed to have gone a " wool gathering," whether amongst the sheep that pastured in the vicinity of Furt Eric, on the banks of Stojii/ Creek, or among tnose which wandered along ihe fertile plains of /V/;jc^ Edward Lland, I n:n not j)rej)ared to say. At all events, he did not recollect whether till the Companies of the 1st Battalion City Militia were furuiAhed with Captains or noc, and actually refer- red the Court to the Commanding Officer for information on this subject. — He certainly did not produce any entry in the *' ORni:ia,v Book." which could throw any light on the matter. I do not notice this circumstance, as feeling myself personally interested in it ; but I think it cannot fail to impress every person enquiring into the circumstances, that the public money of the Province is misapj)lied and squandered, so far as it regurds Mi- litia Officers' salaries. — The very idea, of an Adjutant General's being appointed to manage these matters at Head Quarter^) — receiving ^100 a year, and next being able, on an important oc- casion like thifj, to produce a Genkral Orderly Book, or the original order itself, nor even to state from his recollection, whe- ther the different companies of Battalions were supplied wich Commanding Officers or not, — is preposterous. The next witness brought before the Court, was Major Pe- tei-s. As I consider him as having been the identical person with whom the charges then preferred against me origmated, my readers must excuse me if my remarks upon his evidence should be somewhat lengthy. Indopd, were it not that 1 now it m i n % 1 1 . " y i ' . ' . ■■ ^^ ,•. ■ htA myself pledged to ky before the public, a full stntement at the circumstances connected with my trial, I should consider both Major Peters and his -evidence, as being unworthy of notice — in fact, cdmor ht^low contempt itself. His evidence, throughout, is a tissue of i^ brications. In order to make this assertion good, I shSll notice the replies to the questions put to him, both by the Court and myself, seriatim. Miyor Peters wds asked whether I still belonged to the Bat- fiUlion of which he wat Major? he replied I did. This reply only goes to confirm div? statement which I have already given, respecting the motives vr hich operated on the part of the Major Sn bringing me before this Court; for he must, as well as myself, fe..*e previously understood his Commanding Officer's (Colonel Drury) opinion upon this subject. Bu'- besides this, it will appear, on a perusal of Lieutenant King's evidence, that he Major Peters, had explicitly stated to bim, long before this pe- riod, that I (Captain B.) " was no longer an officer," — and that I " was remo^'ed from the service."' Now, if we are to attach an equal degree of crediability to the evidence given by Lieu- tenant King as we do to that of Major Peters^ (who by the bye ■was a person interested,) what are we to think of'th^^ flat cosv tradiction which wns brought forth between them ? A question put subsequently to the Major by the Court, brought out his ignorance of Military afiairs, most confound- ly. — lie was asked what rank I held in the Battalion: — his reply was, the rank of Captain and Adjutant. Now I will venture to say, that if tlie records of the Horse Guards, or those of any Acljutant General's Office belonging to the British Government were^eaiched, no officer's name will be ibuiul tlicrein as holding the rank of A(ljtUani-^*\\e fact is,no such thing is known in the service as the rafi^ of Adjutant. If Major P. was not previ- ously acquainted with this, he is now welcome to the informa- tibn. The next question put to the Major does not appear to mond the matter, but on the contrary, places it in a more ridiculous point of view. — It was put by the Judge Advocate, who, whate- ver his abilities may be as a Barrister, seemed to be totally unacquainted with the. teclmicalities belonging to Military t'lctics. — " Has he held ihat rank ever since ? It would puzzle even a Philadelphia Lawyer to understand the olyect which the learned gentleman had in view, in putting this (question, for the youngest drummer of any regiment knows tha'., the tertr rank may be applied to a .persA truth is, a Captaincy or 4 ;;. • ■■ 99 Subalterncy is » rank^ bat an Adjutancy is hoiE. The repty to this question is ks absurd as the question itself. It evidentl;^ shows, that neither did the Judge Advocate and Major Peters understand one another, nor did they understand themselves.—. The answer was "as Captain arid not as Adjutant." The ques^ tion would imply, that the Judge Adv.oeate thought there mightl be such a thing in the army as a ranh of Captain and Adjutant* whilst the answerof the Major implies, that there is a rank of Captain and a rank of Adjutant also. The next fault (not to give it a worse name) which I shall notice is, that which arises from t.j inconsistency which evi* dently appears between the testimony given by Major Peteri, and that giveii by Lieutenant King. Th3 question to which I refer, is " what rank did he (Captain B.) then hold ?" — Answer, *' The rank of Captain.** It must surely appear to every on« to be^a mysterious matter, how I could hold the rank of Captain and still be no officer, — that in the opinion of Major Peters I was not an officer, is clearly shewn by the evidence of Lieutenant . King. As the reader will perceive from the Minutes, that lopenly charged the Major with prevarication, I feel myself bound, in' going through his evidence, to take notice of every incident cal* culated to bear me out in having done so. I therefore beg leave to observe, on his cross examination, the inconsis that Peters considered me an officer. — The question I refer to is— - " Did you after receiving that communication (viz. Shore's Letter of the 26th October,) consider Captain Burns as being an officeT in the Militia ?" — Ans. " I did*" — Having previously remarked on this circumstance, it is only necessary now to say, that the Major, through thick and thin,(and on -ja$h.too) appear- ed determuied to support what he himself was sensible wus not the fi»ct. I am aware it must be tedions for my readers to follow me over the same ground so often, but having received such a severe reprimand from the Prosecutor, in reference to this matter, I hope I shall be excused. — Another question was — " Did you, on any occasion, state to an officer or officers of the City Militia, that Captain Burns was no longer an office" and that he could not be considered as such upon public occasions ? Ans. " I did not." — As Lieutenant King was the offioer to whom he did say so, I must refer ac^ain to bis evidence, in order to Mtisfy my readers diat I had good grounds for charging the Major with wilful prevarication. It is impossible to consider it a mistake, or inadyerteney, on his part, a£iter the^uer bftd been so fre- nsisteiicy which again appeared, between his statement and of Lieutenant King's, respectmg whether or not Major i^ ^ ^ 1 I : * ■A'". m 40 !!.'<■/ t i'S -%: t •jueiitly adverted to, — Majocci*s famed " non ml recofdo," was child's play, when compared with the Major's " / did tiot" — The Major, however, appears to have hail some sjnce of" Ma- jocci's candour about bim," nevertheless — for he entirely yi'/'^fo/ whether he had, or had not had, any cominuuication with his Commanding Officer, respecting his appointing me to Nd. 1 Company. His ignorance of military matters, as well as his recollection of ppst events, appears also to have been of a very accommoda- ting nature, regarding the meeting of Field Officers at Colonel Drury's house. — If the evidence given by Colonel Drury be here referred to, the I'eader will see, tliat he explicitly declared, that it voas not a Court of Enquin/. The next subject matter in the Major's evidence which I shall notice, is,the ingenuity he displayed in endeavouring modestly to decline taking tne credit of being a party concerned in prcler- ring the? complaint originally made to the Commander-in-Chi'sf against me. — It is unnecessary to dwell on tliis point. — I*" wi!' be sufiicient to insert the copy of what th" Major in his no 1 me (see page 31) styled a Militia General Order, and which :■« this time he terms " an official communication." Will the mo.st sceptical, after looking at these things, any longer doubt the falli- bility of human nature? — I think not. It is plain we are liable to lose our recollections, and to change our scutimenls. A copy of the coiiimunication referred to appears on page 31. I le'.ve my readers to find out for themselvivs, wliethcr it was a Militia General Order, or an official communication ; for my part, I have never conceived it to be either the one or the other. — At all e\'ents, ifwe are to let the Majorgo clear of the impli- cation of prevarication in this iustance, we nuist 'I'^cossarily lay it at the di»or of the Adjutant-General himself, for the words "Inspecting Field Officer and yourself," fly (laoctly in the face oV those, " a complaint preferred against him by the Inspecting Field Officer." Whether or not these gentlemen knowing that 1 was in possession of the letters, previously uuderstood oneano- ther, and adopted this plan of getting over the ijiconsistency, I dare not say. — I however have my opinion on the matter, and leave my readers to form theirs. In Major Peters' next reply he stated, that he did not " know any thigg ofit"(viz. the complaint) until h^ attended at Colonel Drury's house. — Those who can believe this, after reading Col. Loves letter, v;hich I have just referred to, must be possessed of faith of just about as easy a description as that of the Major's own recollection is. Notwithstanding I was rebuked openly for having delayed •tliQ bnfiiiie4Nl of the Court unnecessarily, I think it will appear to ■-^•.VJ!,J i'- ..,,■ Ofthl the Ma fit drill strange on, wl Battall{ But instanci of it, I ''ly, { giant a \ ," was ' wr— .i' Ma- forgot \i\\ liis Nd. I lection imoda- Uolonel be hei'i? id, that 1 1 shall lesUy to prcl'er- in-C}n3f — 1^ wil' ; no 1' vhicli :i'« the most the t'alh- e liable A copy r it was a fur rny le other. le impli- .u'ily lay le words the face [ispectiiig wing that oneano- istency, I Liter, and ot "know t Colonel ding Col. possessed e Major's delayed ttp[)ear to .V -, . 41 every candid person, that my questions Were necessary, tnd pretty close to the point. It was this circumstance, I veriU be- lieve, which made the witnesses, particularlv Peters and Shore* shew a disposition to be impatient. — It diet not suit their pur-, pose to have the v:}iole truth pointed out. Regarding whether or rot the Major had any correspondence with the Commander- in-Chief, or with the Adjutant-General, regarding tiie subject matter of the complaint, he evidently appeared embarrassed — ' He said " the impression on mi/ mind is, that no correspondence took place> &c. &c." (sec the reply itself.) It is a common say- ing, that consistent story-tellers should have good memories. — I have previously shown pretty clearly, that the Major was not a consistent truth-teller. — If the render refer to the latter part of his evidence, he will even perceive that lie was not a consistent story-teller, for he acknowledges having received communicati- ons fi^ni the Commander-in-Chief and the Adjutant-General, also. — Here the cloven toot cannot be concealed.— -O tempora ! O mores ! » I shall conclude the sifling of the Major's evidence by ad* verting merely to one other question, viz r-^- Q. Did you n\ake any complaint to Colonel Love respecting the conduct of Adjutant Buriis ? — (mark the reply, for it is worthy of the Major.) ri,.- ., •» f.* . A. I did not, &c. How will this report tally with the statement made in Colonel Shore's letter to the Adjutant 4' In closing my remarks on the conduct of Major Peters, throughout this business ; and in order to shew that he was not governed by any principle, either of honesty or militi\ry disci- pline, I may reier my readers to his letter to me, wherein he states, the impossibility of his attending s.3 Parade, on the fn'st df •* t*f Drill, (182(},) in consequence of his having to go to Gage " > vj.jciulto the subse>]uent complaint hemade to Colonel Love, i '. 1^; having dismissed the men at so early an hour on that day. ii j>/. / would ask any man acquainted with the usual state of thi ./eather in Saint John, at that season of the year, could the Major be a judge, he being at Gage Town, whether it was a fit drill day, or not? — and his conduct ^ill appear still more strange, if we take into consideration the expressions of satisfacti- on, which he subsequently made at my having dismissed the Battalion at the time I did. But to wind up the history of the Major's conduct* in this instance, for I dare say my readers, as well as myself, are tired j> Off it, I may in conclusion state, that he (Major Peters,) did wil- i'ly, fraiidulendy, and contrary to the Law of the Province, giant ft Certiiicate in favor of SergeanthMtijor Thomas -iSasI^^ .% J 42 » '^s eertifyine, that he hadperformed the duty of Sergcant-Major to the 1st Battalion fcr that memorable year 1826. Whilst at the same time, it is well known to the public, that he the Sergeant- Major Thomas Smith, was either in jail, or within the limits there- of, at the suit of the Major's own brother, on the days of Drill and Inspection for that year. The fact is, that I had to appoint Sergeant William Smith, of the Grenadier Company, to act as Sergeant Major on those days — the place fixed upon for Drill and Inspection being at least two miles distant from the Jail. And in order that I may be still farther borne out in my opinion, respecting the defects in the present system of Militia Laws, and their mode of being, put in execution, this Certificate of the Major's (which by the bye the Law requires shall be signed only by the Commanding Officer,) which the Major could not be, (he t •^'^ at the same time in Gagetown,) was the means of procuring, ■ -^he Governor and Council, a warrant for the payment of t^. jergeant- Major's salary for thatvear, and which has since been paid to Thomas Smith, by the Treasurer of the Province. My remarks on the evidence on Major Peters being so length- ly, I do not conceive it necessary, to enter far into that of the other witnesses, as I believe the Major was the sole cause of my being brought into Court. With regard to the evidence of Colonel Drury, it will appear, evident to any impartial man, that in his opinion, (whether the Court of itself was competent or not,) not even the Governor himsftlf had the power to bring me before this Court for trial, for he did not consider me to be an officer of the Battalion,,after ha- ving been displaced as Adjutant. And, I should not be doing justice to my own feelings on this occasion, were I to omit sta- ting, that the Colonel's conduct towards me, was consistent and gentlemanly throughout, both with regard to the advice he gave me previous to my trial, and also, as respects the candid and open manner, in which he gave his evidence in Court. — I trust my readers will find no difficulty in forming this conclusion, that, if that dependance, which ought to be placed on Colonel D's evi- dence be admitted, it will at once destroy the legality of the pro- ceedings from first to last, and invalidate all the evidence, given at the time, either by Major Peters, or by those others whom I suspect, have been induced to lend their aid in prosecuting me at this time. As to the evidence given by Colonel Love, its inconsistency, expressed in the last clause of the letter which contains his f complaint against me, must, to every person, be as clear as the sun shining at noon-day. In the former, he states, upon oath, .tbAt he **dxd not k^v that Captain JBurus did endeavour to 4S ■^— ^ ajor to , at the geant- sthere- f Drill ippoint > act as r Drill le Jail, pinion, wSf and of the signed uld not leans of for the d which r of tho length- at of the se of my I appear, jther the jovernor trial, for after ha- be doing omit sta- tent and e he gave and open trust my n, that, if I D's evi- )f the pro- ice, given s whom I cuting me nsistency, itains his ear as the pon oath, eavour to to breed a party in the Regiment;" while, in his official leiter of the 26tUJfc^tember, 1826, (see page 30,) he says, that I did all in my "power to create a party in the Regiment." Any re- mark upon this, 1 should conceive, would be offering an insult to the understanding of my readers. Whether I did, or did not, endeavour to persuade tlie Junior Officers to absent them- selves from the Annual Dinner, is now of no consequence. If I had advised them to that effect, and even if some Field Offi- cers had been governed by the same advice, the public would not have had their feelings hurt, by hearing that Colonel Love, and his Aid-de-Campr Major Wedderburn, on their return from the Loch Lomond inspection — I do not say, " fell among thieves" — but, either from the arduous toils of the day, or from partaking too largely of those good thingSt offered to people at an " Annual Dinner" did certainly fall among burnt stumps, spruce trees, &c. notwithstanding, their having been regularly mounted in Military Field Martial equipment f It was well for them, on that occasion, that Mrs. Tyson happenetfto keep a tavern near the scene of their disaster, as she, in duty bound, particularly so to persons of their rank, exerted herself to af- ford them such accommodation, as the imlure of their circum- stances requh-ed. And, as sooa as possible after they had par- tially recovered from their indisposition, being fearful that they could not, even after being ag?iin regularly mounted, miiintain their seats in the saddle, she, very good naturedly,went and pro- vided an ox and team, to forward them on their march to Saint John. It is lamentable to state, that the Aid-de-campt being Secretary to the Agricultural Society, and next day being ap- pointed tor a meeting thereof, he was under the necessity, from ins exertions in military affairs on the previous day, and the consequent disfigurement of his countenance, to employ a bar- ber's journeymen to paint the same for the occasion, in order that he might, with decency, present his report, and put on " as good a face" as he possibly could, for the purpose of meeting His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, to bear his speech — and, no doubt, with a view also of securing the Province grant for ^100, next year, for his services as Agricultural Secretary. With regard U) the evidences given by Adjutant Robinson and Lieutenant King, I merely take notice of them, out of re- spect for those gen' 'cmen ; whom I conceive, up to the present moment, to have been totally unconnected with the collision which was evidently entered into, against me, by Major Peters, Colonel Love, and Adjutant-General Shore. It now only remains for me to notice the remarks, which were published along with His Excellency's confirmation of the sen- tence of the Court Martial, a coi)y of which is us follows : ) / ■ u ■■%■■ MILITIA GENERAL ORDERS. tit a CtoMrkl Oowrt Martwl hold at St. John, on the 80th October, 1827, «m v- «i|Bed Csotain LEWIS BlTRNS, of the First Battalion of the Eegiuiaot of Saifit John City Militia, agoo the ludermentioned diarges, viz : First. " For contemptuous and improper condaet aa an Officer, in rofiisin^ to re* *' ceive the Muster Boll of No. 1 Battalion Cdmpanjr, on the first of September instant, ** when handed to him by the Adjutant of the {Battalion by order of the Major Gotn* 'Vmaodinff. He the said Lewis Burns having been duly att&cbed to the command of ** the said company by a previons order for that purpose duly issued. liaoond. ** For nealect of duty, as an Officer, in not taking charge and command of " the said con:>>any when duly appointed thereto, and not perl'orroing tho duties kelong- " ins to that office, asToquired by the Laws for the organization and regulation of the ** BSniitia. fhird. " For disobedience of orders as an Officer, in not ordering or callinf out the^ ** said company for Drill and Inspection, in the present year, at the several days and '< times for that purpose duly named and appointed, under and by virtue of the said " MiKtia Laws.'^ .^ - -rr Upon which charge* the Court came to the following decision > The Coun having maturely weighed and considered all ihat has bean adduced inuip- portoftbe pnngtcution, as woU as what has beau brought forwEird on the defence, arok ef opinion that (ue prisoner. Captain Lewis Burns, is guilty of the first charge prefer- red against him.— And the CouVt do further find that the said prisoner. Captain Lewie Bnrtis, is also gdllty of the second charge profbrred against him. — And the Court do further find tha^ the said prisoner. Captain Lewia Burns, is also guilty of tho third charge preferred asaiuat hira in breach of the Militia Law, and of his duty as a Militia Officer, and they du therefor* adjadge him the said Captain Lewis Burns to be Ca> ehiered. fhe Court having performed their duty of awarding punishment tn strict conformity to the Militia Law, which deprives theoiof all discretionary power, beg leave to ob- serve, that although the conduct of Captain Lewis Burns, dn the first day before the Court, was highly contemptuo.^, irregular, and improper, yet since ihat period hia conduct has been regular and correct, and the Court boing of opinion that his fault has arisen npore from error in judgniant than from premeditated intent to disobey orders, beg leave to recommend him to the ikvorable consideration of His Excellency. His Excellency Uib Lieutenant-Oovernor and Commander-in-Chief has been pleased to approve and confirm the finding and sentence of the Court. His Excellency the Lieutenant-Oovernor and Commander-in-Chief did not fail to take Under his consideration, the recommendation which the Court made of Captain Burns through their President to His Exiiejlency's favourable consideration. Captain Barns having availed himself of the adjourned opportunity afforded to him, of defending himself against the charges which have been preferred against him, the Com- mander-in-Chief in eonfirming the fiading and sentence of the Court, might not have felt disposed to make any observations on Captain Burns' conduct at the opening of tho prr- codings; but, brought before His Excellency as an object of mercy, His Excellency is forced to revert to the highly contemptuous, irregular and hnproper manner in which Captain Burns then eonducted himself, as reasons which preclude the exercise of any morcii'ul comsideration^ It cannot be iioagined that Captain Burns was ignorant of the rules ffnd customs of Military Service, or under any miscnnccption as to its forms aad usages — Ho is undor- ctood to have bean trained in the ranks of the British Army, in a statiou in which ha must UavoobSffvadsnbordination, respect and due decorum ; and in which he should have learnt abow all things what is due to the dignity of a Tribunal such as that which he has treated W9 contemptuously. Uia JSfcudoncy tharefora directs that the foregoing charges preferred against Cap* tain Lewii Burns, togSstber with the finding and sentence' of tho Court and His Excel- lency's i^iproval thereof, shall be entered in the General Order Book of every Battalion in ttia FroviaM, and raad a., tha head of each Battalibn and Dttachmant at their noxt (■•aanl iMpa^Mw. . JBy ordnr of Hit Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, ^H.% 6E0UGE SHORE, ddjutanl-Gencral. 'i h. «5 my attended ib tihe ftbove General Orde", as I havt maide fi>«ely.oii the conduct of those Oifieei's, who /ourt Martial as witnesses, 'tis my duty toi state, that at least four of the Officers who composed that (Lour^ vU»- Tho President, (Colonel Drury,) Colonel Simonds, Major Anr derson, and Captain Fl^Uxerty — the greater por^ c^ whom, are well known to have seen some service — were exposed to U»e passing of the sentence above alluded to, as, in their opinion, I was not guilty of any one of the charges preferred agaiuot me- My defence was closed at II o'clock on the lOtli of Novem- ber, but in consequence of these gentlemen opposing the deci- sion of the Court, for my being cashiered ; the business was.dis- cussed till 4 o'clock in the afternoon,with closed doors ; and, in consequence of this discussion, it was agreed, that in transmit- ting the decision of Court to His Excellency, the matter should be recommended to his favorable consideration. Whether this recommendation ever accompanied the sen- tence of the Court Martial to the Commander-in-Chief, I know not — but if it did^ it would appear by the remarks made upon the sentence, and which appear in the above General Order, to have been converted to a purpose, totally different from the in- tention of the Court. I have conversed with a number of gentlemen who bavc pre- viously held, and (Jo now hold Commissions in His Majesty's service, on the subject of the confirmation of the sentence, who, to a man, gave it as their opinion, that in consequence of my being cashiered) any remarks, from the Commanaer-in" Chief, were altogether unnecessary, and highly improper. Had the sentence of the Court been a reprimand^ the case would have been different, as the reprimand would, of course have ap- peared in a Militia General Order, and been published in the Newspapers, according to Law ; but the above Militia Ordtfr appears to contain a reprimand after I had been cashiered, which is certainly a deviation from all MiHtfiry discipline which I have ever heard of, in the British Army. The Commander-in-Chief never had, to my knowledge, any • occasion to entertain any personal antipathy toward^me ; nor do I believe he now entertains any. But, whether he has allowed himself to be imposed upon in tliis case, from the report or insinuations of the piiosEcuTon ex officio^ it is difficidt to tell. One thing is certain, — I was an Officer in the Saint John Mi- ' litia, previous to His administration in this Province, and it is not at all unlikely, that when it is placed in other hands, I may be again called upon to accept a Commission in the Provincial MiUtia, "hen it will be for me to judge, whether I will accept of it or not. u *4 fit >' • (. 4S i . ' i iy^fit eon«der It iu,|»#jr to ojW^ i^^Sv^CSinS^pottkl«llie ^ity ftnd mteres^ ..;i^- :4',Vt * » ,*!> ''^■ W?- 5» > ;fch* ■ «iV/'-;'i>^ i f . i* ,^>. •«. .■* h ciipw )U0 \ V.J—'-'-' „ . .u„ \,nttomi i'^''^ ' .,\ ,..,lim '"' from the b.UOu.U.rc./f. ) .(•tU n'\o ^ ; 1. • '■(...-rfr-Ai*!**^"**^"" «».- ^R.-:,^;