When I sit, with my wife by my side, before the fire in our comfortable
home, and consider that the parlour carpet, and the furniture, and
the pictures, and the hall and stair carpet, and all the dining-room
furniture, with the china and the glass and the linen, and all the
kitchen utensils, and two bedroom suites on the second story--both
hard wood--and all the furniture and fittings of a very pleasant room
for a single man, the third story front, were bought with the pin that
the Signora gave to Sarah Jane, I am filled with profound respect for
things that glitter. And when I look on the other side of the fire and
see Jim smoking his pipe just as happy as anybody, then I say to myself
that, if there are people who think that this story is too much out of
the common, I wish they would step in here and talk to Jim about it.
There is a fire in his eye when he tells you how glad he is that it was
the shark that died instead of him.
[Illustration]
_The State of the Law Courts._
I
A vivid public interest has of late been aroused in regard to the
administration of justice in this country. The wholesome feeling of
reverence that formerly attached to our judges seems now to be on the
wane, and in private circles, especially among the legal profession,
the conduct of the judicature has been severely commented upon, while
the Press has occasionally ventured to darkly hint that the retirement
of one of our most eminent judges is desirable in the public interest.
On all sides it is agreed that his infirmities unfit him for the
efficient discharge of his duties, his judgments show the melancholy
decline of a once brilliant intellect, and the continued occupation
of his seat upon the bench is a source of danger to the public. And
yet such is the state of our legal machinery that his retirement is
practically in his own hands. Only by an address of both Houses of
Parliament to the Crown can his removal be brought about--an odious
and invidious task, which the legislature naturally delays as long as
possible, and will only undertake as an extreme measure. Although of
recent years there has been a marked improvement in the _personnel_
of our judges, so far as bodily vigour is concerned, there are still
on the bench aged and infirm men who would have retired but for the
necessity of completing the statutory period of fifteen years, at the
expiration of which only can their pensions be earned. It is pitiable
to see these old public servants, who once ranked among the most
brilliant men of their day, attempting to discharge their duties with
an obvious effort and at great physical fatigue.
More than enough instances have recently arisen of judges being
incapacitated by deafness and other infirmities, and refusing to
retire. But public opinion has hitherto been very tolerant, and these
distinguished men have been permitted in their declining years to
exercise functions demanding the highest mental activity without
exciting adverse comment. That there are defects in our judicial
system, not the least of which is the absence of any controlling power
over our judges, becomes more and more apparent, and it will be useful,
therefore, to bring some of those which are most notorious in the legal
profession under the notice of the public.
The judicial system in this country is the most expensive in the
world. Our judges, it is true, are men of the highest integrity, and
the confidence of the public in their incorruptibility is absolute.
In this respect, no doubt, we compare favourably with many foreign
nations. But the public have a right to look for something more than a
strictly honourable bench, and it is desirable to inquire what we get
in return for the enormous annual outlay on our judicature. For the
sake of convenience let us begin with the higher tribunals. It will be
interesting, in the first place, to study the following table, which
shows the numerical strength of Her Majesty's judges, together with the
salaries they receive:--
1 Lord Chancellor £10,000
4 Lords of Appeal (£6,000) £24,000
1 Master of the Rolls £6,000
5 Lords Justices (£5,000) £25,000
5 Chancery Judges (£5,000) £25,000
1 Lord Chief Justice £8,000
13 Common Law Judges (£5,000) £65,000
2 Admiralty Judges (£5,000) £10,000
1 Judge Court of Arches £5,000
-- --------
33 £178,000
There are, besides, a great number of highly paid officials known on
the Common Law side as masters, and in the Chancery Division as chief
clerks, who assist the judges by performing minor judicial functions.
These gentlemen receive £1,000 a year each. There are also Clerks of
the Crown and Associates on the various circuits who receive liberal
salaries, as well as a multitude of clerks and other officers who
are paid out of the public funds. But it is not our present purpose
to consider these minor functionaries, our object being to afford a
general conception of the working of the High Courts of Justice without
going into unnecessary details. For the information of the curious,
however, we may state that the total expenditure for law and justice
last year was more than four and a half millions sterling, a sum which
it should be understood includes the charges for maintaining prisons
and other expenses incidental to the administration of justice.
In face of such stupendous figures the intelligent foreigner may well
imagine that we have a judicial system well-nigh perfect, or at least
quite adequate to the requirements of a great commercial community. And
yet what are the facts? Among members of the legal profession it is a
matter of common observation and lament that commercial cases are year
by year growing less frequent. For a long time they consoled themselves
by attributing this to commercial stagnation. But of late their eyes
have been opened to the real cause, and neither by their smiles nor
their tears can they win back the vanished litigation that once so
satisfactorily brought grist to their mill. On all hands business men
declare that, so far from being satisfied with their expensive legal
machinery, they absolutely dread the law. They dare not risk its
dignified delay, they fear its endless expense, they are terrified at
the prospect of being dragged from Court to Court on Appeal, and they
have no confidence in the ability of a large proportion of our judges
to decide rightly on commercial disputes, especially those involving
technical matters.
[Illustration: MR. JUSTICE STEPHEN.]
This feeling has doubtless been intensified by the recent case of
Vagliano and the Bank of England. It is needless to go into the details
of this matter, which are well known to the public. Suffice it to say
that a judge of the High Court in 1888 gave a decision contrary to
the feeling of business men and subversive of commercial custom in
regard to bills of exchange, which was upheld in the Court of Appeal
by a majority of five to one. This decision was, however, reversed in
the House of Lords in March of this year by a majority of six to two.
Thus, after long delay and enormous expense, the case having been heard
by fifteen judges, a final decision was obtained that satisfied the
commercial community. But the uncertainty of the law is exemplified by
the fact that the verdict of seven judges, _i.e._, six in the House of
Lords and one in the Court of Appeal, outweighed that of the remaining
eight. And there is no reason to suppose that the judges of the House
of Lords who carried the day are men of higher legal ability than those
in the Court of Appeal.
Instead, therefore, of waiting months for their cases to be tried,
paying enormous fees to leading counsel, and possibly enduring the risk
and delay of appeal, men of commerce prefer to submit their disputes
to the arbitration of others in their own trade, and thereby get them
decided without any delay or legal expense. Innumerable disputes are in
this way settled in the City every year, and in some businesses it is
a matter of etiquette for men to accept the office of arbitrator when
asked to do so without any fee, they knowing full well that the time is
sure to come when they themselves will require to have a matter decided
in the same convenient and expeditious manner.
It is undoubtedly a great hardship for a commercial community to have
to put up with rough and ready justice in this way, instead of having
the advantage of highly trained legal minds. But business men cannot
afford to wait for the slow machinery of the law, and though they
have to maintain the Courts of Justice, they decide to do without
them. Doubtless many others would gladly do the same had they equal
facilities for arbitration.
The result of this widening breach between law and commerce is that a
large and increasing proportion of the work of the High Court consists
of libel, slander, malicious prosecution, and cases of a similar class,
together with actions varying in character not at all, and in the
amount sought to be recovered only infinitesimally, from those which
come within the jurisdiction of the County Court.
But though a great number of the suits may be of slight importance,
the cost of litigation is by no means insignificant. The court-fees,
it is true, are not proportionately so high as in the County Court,
although they might with advantage be largely reduced; but the average
charges for legal assistance are enough to make the boldest litigant
pause.
[Illustration: APPEAL COURT.]
In an ordinary action for £100, supposing the defendant to be
unsuccessful, he will probably have to pay, in addition to the £100,
not less than £120 to his opponents' solicitor for the costs taxed
against him, as well as, say, £150, the little account of his own
attorney. Supposing he conscientiously believes the verdict to be
unjust, and determines to go to the Court of Appeal, he will have
to pay at least £100 more if unsuccessful. This brings his bill up
to £470, instead of the original £100. A rational litigant would in
such a case be unlikely to want to go beyond the Court of Appeal, but
supposing he should desire to avail himself of the highest tribunal
that a generous country places at his disposal, and takes his case to
the House of Lords, he will be put to a further expense of about £200.
On the other hand, the successful suitor would also be at a
considerable loss, the costs that he would have to pay being far in
excess of the £100 recovered. By such a system a powerful and dangerous
weapon is undoubtedly placed in the hands of a wealthy litigant who
chooses oppressively to take his opponent from court to court. In
many cases the costs are augmented to a scandalous degree by the
multiplication of interlocutory proceedings. It is monstrous that in
an action to recover a sum of £100 a wealthy and perverse litigant
should have the power, on some incidental question of interrogatory, to
take his opponent from the master to the judge, from the judge to the
Divisional Court, from the Divisional Court to the Court of Appeal, and
from the Court of Appeal to the House of Lords.
An evil hardly less grave than the law's expense is the law's delay.
In a common law action of the simplest character, with little or no
interlocutory proceedings, the period that must elapse between the
issue of the writ and the trial of the action is little short of twelve
months, while in the event of appeal nearly another year will be lost.
In the Chancery Division the delay is still more marked.
At the commencement of the legal year, namely, October 24, 1890, there
were 448 Chancery cases set down for trial. Of these, when Christmas
arrived, only 74 had been decided, that is, after about one-third
of the judicial year had elapsed. At that rate of progress--without
allowing for the setting down of additional causes, which is, of
course, continuous throughout the year--there would only be, of the 448
causes set down in October, 1890, 222 disposed of by October, 1891,
thus leaving still unsettled half the cases that litigants were ready
to try twelve months before.
The appointment of an additional Chancery judge is by many advocated
for the purpose of battling with these arrears. It is, however,
notorious that, owing to the higher scale of costs in Chancery than
in Common Law, solicitors prefer the former for the purpose of trying
their actions. In consequence of this, a large number of cases that
should properly come before the Common Law judges are tried in the
Chancery Division. Surely the effect of removing this gross anomaly
should be seen before further expenditure be imposed upon the nation.
Few probably will go so far as Jeremy Bentham in laying down that the
State should provide for the administration of justice free of expense
to litigants; but there is a very general consensus of opinion in
favour of a simplification of procedure and a limitation of the powers
of appeal, and these are reforms that a willing legislature might well
undertake.
To return to the judges of the High Court, it will be instructive to
inquire how they earn the liberal salaries set forth in the foregoing
table. Commencing at the top, it will be well to consider the position
of that august official the Lord High Chancellor of England. And
whatever remarks we may find it necessary to make, we wish it to be
distinctly understood that we mean no disrespect to Lord Halsbury,
the present learned and capable occupant of the post. It is merely
our object to criticise the office, and our observations, therefore,
will have no personal bearing. In the first place, it is worthy of
note that the most highly paid temporal office in England--that of the
Lord Chancellor--is given rather as a reward for political than for
legal success. Of course, to occupy the post of Attorney-General, the
stepping-stone to that of Lord Chancellor, a man must be a lawyer of
considerable ability. It has, however, been very well said that a good
lawyer can be nothing else; and it is obvious that an Attorney-General
must be a man of some political as well as legal capacity. It is quite
conceivable that there may be a dearth of legal talent on any political
side, and that a moderate man maybe chosen as the chief law-adviser of
the Crown in consequence. Indeed, such a state of things has happened
before now. It by no means follows, therefore, that the Lord Chancellor
is necessarily a man of transcendent legal ability. It is probable,
in fact, that, as a rule, he is not so good a lawyer as the judges
who receive half his salary. And here it may be well to remark that,
although the Lord Chancellor is nominally at the head of the bench,
he can exercise no efficient control over the judges. He can make
appointments to the bench, but judges, once made, can, as already
stated, only be removed by the act of both Houses of Parliament. Thus
a judge, even if obviously suffering from mental decay, may continue
to exercise his functions, to the miscarriage of justice, for a
considerable period before the legislature can be set in motion to
bring about his retirement.
[Illustration: MR. JUSTICE JEUNE.]
The Lord Chancellor occasionally (when any of the Lords Justices are
absent from illness or other cause) sits in the Court of Appeal, which
is held in two sections--one hearing cases from the Common Law side,
and the other those from the Chancery Division. The principal duty of
the Lord Chancellor, however, consists in presiding over the House
of Lords--the final Court of Appeal both in Common Law and Chancery
matters. The House of Lords, as an appellate court, consists of the
Lord Chancellor, the Lords of Appeal, and such peers as are, or have
been, holding high judicial office. Ordinary peers, however, have also
the right of sitting and giving judgment, and, in consequence of this
anomaly, the judges of final appeal have sometimes had the assistance
of an eccentric nobleman endowed with a fancy for the law, whose vote
has carried as much weight as that of the Lord Chancellor himself. The
judicial work of the House of Lords is light. Indeed, it will not be
understating the case to say that the House does not dispose of more
than sixty or seventy causes in the year. It is thus not difficult to
calculate, supposing these cases to occupy an average of half a day,
and taking into consideration the salaries of the Lord Chancellor
and the Lords of Appeal, together with the heavy pensions paid to
ex-Chancellors and other expenses, that the Court of Final Appeal
exercises its judicial functions at a cost of something like a thousand
pounds a day!
Besides the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice is by some legal
fiction supposed to exercise control over the judicial bench. As a
matter of fact, however, the judges are practically under no control
whatever save that of public opinion, as represented by the press,
which should never hesitate to expose their shortcomings when they come
to light. It is the duty of those on whom, by force of circumstances,
the public are obliged to rely to safeguard their interests, not to
relax their supervision out of deference to the high repute in which
our judges are held. Under the old system, when the Courts of Common
Pleas, Exchequer, and Queen's Bench existed, each division had a chief
who was responsible for the work of his court and the mode in which it
was administered. The judges now hold a meeting, at which they make
their own arrangements for circuits and for appointments to the various
courts. Although the Lord Chief Justice is supposed to control the
order of work, the judges in effect have a free hand as regards their
own duties.
With the development of modern civilisation and the increase of
democratic strength, the social status of the judges has materially
changed, and it is by no means in accordance with "end of the century"
ideas to grant them the almost despotic power that they held of old.
The Judicature Act did something towards diminishing their prestige,
and nowadays many of them are disappointed perhaps to find that their
office does not command a high social position.
[Illustration: ADMIRALTY COURT.]
Notwithstanding the decadence of the social status and prestige of
the judges, on circuit they maintain a pomp and splendour, it is
true somewhat tawdry, which finds its only counterpart in the mimic
state of the Lord Mayor. Quiet gentlemen who have been accustomed all
their lives to carry their own bags down to chambers, suddenly find
themselves, after being raised to the Bench and especially when going
on circuit, surrounded with unwonted splendour. They are attended by
a smart young gentleman who costs the country three guineas a day
while the Assizes last, as his reward for acting as judge's marshal,
or a sort of groom-in-waiting. If he fulfilled the functions of clerk,
perhaps there would not be much cause for complaint; but the judge has
a clerk of his own, to whom the nation pays a liberal salary, and the
marshal's duties are purely ornamental.
It is true the cost of the splendid equipage, generally drawn by
four hack horses from the local livery stables, the trumpeters, the
javelin men, and all the paraphernalia of the judge's progress from his
lodgings to the Court, falls upon the High Sheriff, and not upon the
country; but it is, nevertheless, a vexatious impost and an intolerable
anachronism.
[Illustration: HATS AND WIGS.]
The prerogatives of the judges still far exceed those of any other
public servants; they are permitted to perform their duties almost at
their own pleasure; even the Legislature refuses to recognise any power
over them, and they have also much patronage vested in them, such as
the appointment of revising barristers, chief clerks and masters, who
exercise judicial functions.
The holidays enjoyed by the members of the judicature are far in excess
of those in any other profession.
The following figures will give an idea of how many days out of the 365
are occupied by the judges in earning their salaries:--
Christmas holidays 21 days.
Easter " 12 "
Whitsuntide " 10 "
Long Vacation 72 "
Queen's Birthday 1 "
Sundays (besides those included above) 36 "
Courts sit 213 "
---
365
Although there is no statutory authority for the closing of the courts
on the Queen's birthday, the judges have recently, with one or two
exceptions, made a point of showing their loyalty by doing no work on
that day. Many of them also are frequently absent on ordinary working
days from other causes than illness. These delinquents are well known
to the members of the legal profession, and it is unnecessary to
mention their names.
The hours of sitting are nominally from 10.30 in the morning to 4
in the afternoon, with an interval of half an hour for lunch. Some
judges, however, do not generally take their seats until a quarter to
11, and often later, and one or two are known occasionally to steal
a little time from the end of the sitting. It is also a matter of
common observation that the orthodox half-hour for lunch is very often
spun out to three-quarters. So that, including the short sitting on
Saturdays, when the courts rise at two o'clock, the judges do not sit
much more than an average of four hours a day.
[Illustration: LUNCHEON.]
Even if we give them credit for 4-1/2 hours a day, reckoning their
salaries at £5,000 (though many of them receive more) we find that
the payment they receive for their work comes to over £5 an hour. At
such a price it is only reasonable to expect them to give the fullest
attention to their duties. But, alas, for human fallibility! Even
judges sometimes nod.
It is true that our system is at fault in permitting our judicature to
be conducted by men whose physical infirmities prevent them from giving
due attention to their work. But such considerations do not soothe the
breast of the unfortunate litigant who has paid an eminent counsel a
hundred guineas to address a sleeping judge, or one whose deafness
prevents him from comprehending the weighty arguments offered for his
consideration.
[Illustration: A MESSENGER.]
It is part of the duty of the fourteen judges of the Queen's Bench
Division to go on circuit, and during the time of the circuits, as a
rule not more than two or three puisne judges are left in London. These
judges are absent from town, in fact, fully one-half of the judicial
year, and the occupants of the bench are not in the metropolis in
their full strength for more than a third of that period. As a result
of this arrangement, the business of the high courts, so far as the
trial of actions is concerned, is absolutely at a stand-still during
the greater part of the year. The cause lists become congested, suitors
wait vainly for their cases to be settled, and a multitude of the suits
entered never come on for trial at all, many of them being more or less
amicably arranged out of court, while others bring about their own
culmination through death or other causes. It is notorious that many of
the judges, when they observe that a case is of a complex character,
involving long and tedious investigation, will bring strong pressure on
the parties to induce them either to settle the case or to refer it to
an arbitrator. Such pressure it is dangerous for either side to resist,
and it results in further fees, further costs, and further delay.
The judges, while on circuit, receive a travelling allowance of
seven guineas a day. This is a comparatively recent arrangement, the
travelling expenses having formerly been paid in a lump sum. It would
be interesting to compare the average length of time occupied by the
judges on circuit under the old and under the new system. A great deal
of time is utterly wasted. For instance, a whole day is devoted to what
is termed "Opening the Commission." This is nothing but an antiquated
ceremony of no possible use, consisting of the reading of the Royal
Commission under which the judges hold the assizes. It occupies about
a quarter of an hour, the remainder of the day being lost. The assizes
are often concluded within a less number of days than the time assigned
to them, and the judges take advantage of this to enjoy a welcome
holiday, with a solatium for their enforced idleness of seven guineas a
day.
Our present circuit system undoubtedly leads to a scandalous and
deplorable waste of judicial time and public money. For instance, on
the South-Eastern Circuit, the largest towns of which are Cambridge
and Norwich, there is practically no business whatever; and yet all
the paraphernalia and expense of assizes goes on for eleven or twelve
weeks every year in respect of cases that might be disposed of in
London in about a week by one judge. On other circuits, too, time is
wasted in an equally reckless manner, the judges on several days being
absolutely idle.
Surely there is no necessity to allow a week for the judicial work at a
town where there are only a few cases that could easily be disposed of
in a couple of days. The public, who pay the bill, unfortunately have
but little opportunity of having the shortcomings of the judges brought
under their notice. Not only are the latter protected by the respectful
feeling, the result of ingrained reverence, that the judicial bench has
always been able to inspire; but it is also a fact that those whose
position makes them most capable of criticising the judges find it
contrary to their interests to do so. Barristers who have to make their
way at the bar, and who are well acquainted with the peculiarities of
the judges, are afraid to speak of them, for to do so would be to their
own professional detriment, and clerks and underlings, who have to rely
on the patronage of the judges, cannot be expected to tell what they
know.
In the present article it is to be hoped we have done enough to show
that defects exist, and that one of the most needed reforms is the
establishment of a complete and efficient controlling power over our
judicial bench, for judges, after all, are only human, and no human
beings, however honourable, can be relied upon always to perform their
duty to the public with thoroughness and energy if left entirely to
their own devices.
The fact that private arbitration, especially in commercial cases,
has in a great measure superseded the Courts, forms a most damaging
comment on our judicial system. The case, then, that we allege against
the judicature may be briefly summed up, the chief points being as
follows:--
(_a_) Excessive cost.
(_b_) Unreasonable delay in getting to trial.
(_c_) Unnecessary multiplication of appeals with consequent delay and
expense.
(_d_) Waste of judicial power on Circuit and Divisional Court
arrangements.
(_e_) Incapacity of individual judges.
(_f_) Unreasonably long holidays.
It is our intention in subsequent articles to bring forward further
particulars, and without going so deeply into technical details as
to be uninteresting to the ordinary reader, to suggest remedies with
a view to bringing our judicature more in touch with the people, and
making it adequate to the needs of a great commercial community.
[Illustration]
_Stories of the Victoria Cross: Told by Those who have Won it._
+Deputy Inspector-General J. Jee+, C.B., V.C.
Though military surgeons are technically non-combatants, yet
practically they are as much exposed to peril as other officers,
and frequently have to perform work demanding the greatest care and
calmness under the most disturbing dangers. In gallantry and devotion
to duty no other class of soldiers has surpassed them. The following
is the story of the exploit of one of these brave men, Surgeon Jee, as
told in his own words:--
On the advance of the force to relieve the garrison of Lucknow,
under Generals Havelock and Outram, my regiment, the 78th
Highlanders, led the way. General Outram's order on leaving
Lucknow ran as follows:--"I have selected the 78th Highlanders
for covering the retreat of the force; they had the post of
honour on the advance, and none are more worthy of the post of
honour on leaving it."
There was very hard fighting from the Alum Bagh till we arrived
close to Lucknow, when I was told an officer was severely
wounded. I dismounted from my horse to attend him, and found
he was dead. At that moment a very rapid ordnance and musketry
fire commenced close to us, and I was pulled into the bastioned
gateway of the Char-Bagh Palace by some soldiers, to whom
probably I owed my life, as the round shot passed by us in
quick succession. Captain Havelock (now Sir Henry Havelock)
then rode up to me, with a bullet hole through his topee, and
said, "We have taken that position, at all events, at the point
of the bayonet." That proved to be the bridge over the canal
at the entrance of Lucknow, defended by heavy guns, which had
evidently been well served, judging by the numbers of dead
lying around them.
[Illustration: SURGEON JEE DRESSING THE WOUNDED.]
When the main body of the force arrived and crossed to the
other side of the bridge, the Generals heard that the streets
in the city, leading direct to the Residency, were entrenched
and barricaded. It was, therefore, decided to take the outside
route by the very narrow road to the right by the canal,
leaving the 78th to hold the position until ordered to advance
after the column. Captains Drummond-Hay and Lockhart were then
ordered to proceed with their companies to a pagoda some little
distance up the street leading from the bridge. All was
pretty quiet for some time, and the force had got some distance
away, when a message was sent down to the Colonel by Captain
Drummond-Hay that the enemy were coming down upon them in great
force with two guns. The Colonel sent up an order for them to
charge them, which they did, and spiked the guns and brought
them down and threw them into the canal, all the while hotly
pursued by the enemy. I then got between twenty and thirty
wounded men in a few minutes.
I was then informed that the regiment had disappeared round the corner
of the canal after the force, and that we should all be killed if I
remained to dress the wounded upon whom I was engaged, as the enemy was
firing at us from the corner of the street. So I sent to the Colonel
for men to carry the wounded on their backs till we came up with the
dhoolies. I was thus enabled to save them for a short time. It appeared
that Captain Havelock, the Assistant Adjutant-General, had been sent
back by his father to order the 78th to follow the force, when he was
badly wounded in his arm. Luckily I came across two dhoolies, in which
I placed him and a lieutenant of the 78th, who was mortally wounded.
The rest I put into sick-carts drawn by six bullocks; but shortly after
all of them were massacred within sight of us, as unfortunately a
native hackery containing round shot fell over, and completely blocked
the road. One poor fellow, Private Farmer, held his watch out from one
of the carts, asking his comrades to come and take it rather than the
enemy should get it, but no one responded, as the danger was too great.
One man had his lower jaw blown off by a round shot, whom I am seen
dressing in my V.C. picture at the Crystal Palace.
When we reached the force Captain Halliburton, 78th Highlanders
(afterwards killed in Lucknow), took charge of the wounded with his
company. We lost our way in the city, and were led by a guide, who
showed us the way to the Residency into the enemy's battery, where we
suffered considerable loss. After this we wandered about the suburbs
of the city, under an awful cannonading and shelling from the opposite
side of the River Goomtee, being fired at from loopholes in the houses
of the streets when we entered them, from which parties of natives,
clothed in white, often issued. We took refuge in the Mote-Mahul, as it
was too late at night to advance further. The Mote-Mahul is a square
courtyard with sheds round it, and two large gateway entrances. This
was crowded with soldiers, camp followers, and camels, so that you
could scarcely move. I had Captain Havelock and Lieutenant Woodhouse
(right arm afterwards amputated), 84th Regiment, with me under the
shed. The firing during the night was deafening, and gongs were
sounding the hour, and we knew not how far the Residency was. Some who
had been with the main body said the 78th were all killed, and they
could not tell what had become of the rest of the force. At daylight
the next day Brigadier Cooper gave us some tea, as we had taken
nothing since leaving Alum Bagh early the morning before. Our men then
commenced making loopholes in the wall of the shed to shoot the enemy
on the other side, and I heard them told not to make too many or they
would be shooting some of us, and soon afterwards Brigadier Cooper
was shot through one of them, and fell over me. I often had to cross
a gateway that was being raked up by bullets, to dress the wounded of
both the artillery and my own men, against the remonstrances of my
apothecary, Mr. de Soura, and others.
I then volunteered to attempt to get the wounded into the Residency,
and was told by Captain Halliburton, if I succeeded, to tell General
Outram to send him reinforcements or they would all be killed and the
guns lost. I soon came across Colonel Campbell, wounded in the leg
(afterwards amputated in Lucknow, and he died), and I got one of his
men to carry him on his back (who would have been recommended for the
V.C. if he could have been found, but he was supposed to have been
killed). I then wandered on, and had to cross a shallow stream under
fire of the guns of the extensive Palace of the Kaiser Bagh, where the
enemy were said to have 20,000 men. I was then hailed by an European
sentry at the gate of a very high wall, which I had the unpleasant
feeling was the Kaiser Bagh, and that I was on the wrong road, but to
my great relief he told me it led to the Residency, and that I must
keep well under the wall on the way to it, to avoid the firing that
was going on. On arriving at the Residency I delivered my message to
General Havelock, who congratulated me on my escape, as I was reported
killed.
Of course I lost a great many of my wounded, and one could see their
skeletons lying outside the Palace, which we afterwards took, during
the two months we were besieged in Lucknow. I did not see my horse
(that is painted in my V.C. picture from a photograph) till after I
arrived in Lucknow, where he was captured. He was badly wounded by a
large slug or bolt about two inches long (which I have now) entering
deeply on the side of the chest, and which was afterwards found most
difficult to extract with bullet forceps. Yet the horse lived to aid
Outram's relief outside Lucknow, and afterwards was sold as a very
valuable charger for £160.
[Illustration: "I CAME ACROSS COLONEL CAMPBELL."]
+Lance-Corporal William Goate.+
The following account, written by himself, of the military career of
William Goate, and of the heroic act of devotion for which he was
rewarded with the V.C., speaks for itself and needs no introduction:--
My father died when I was only five years old, and left mother
with a family of eleven of us, so as I grew up I had to work
in the fields till I was big enough to mind horses. Then after
a bit I got tired of the country, although it was a pretty
village in Norfolk, called Tritton, close to Norwich; so I
thought I would go to Norwich and get a job as a groom, which
I did, and stopped till I was 18. Then I thought I would like
another change, so up to London I went, and I had a wish to be
a soldier. I was a smart lad and fresh-looking, so I went to
Westminster in November, 1853, and enlisted in the 9th Lancers,
and being a groom I was quite at home in a cavalry regiment;
and I confess to being proud of our gay uniform and fluttering
pennons. Well, after serving four years I was destined to ride
in many a wild charge and see men and horses go down like
ninepins, but I never thought of danger. When we got the order
to charge, away we went determined to win, and I can tell you
it must always be a terrible sight for any troops, let alone
Sepoys, to see a regiment of cavalry sweeping down upon them.
Our fighting began at Delhi. We were at Umballa when the Mutiny
broke out, and we were ordered to join in the operations
against Delhi. I was present at the siege and capture of that
city. I will tell you of a little adventure of my own at this
time. Before the city was taken I was on despatch duty at an
advanced post with orders to fetch reinforcements when the
enemy came out. One day I saw six men trying to steal round by
the river into our camp. Believing them to be spies, I asked
the officer in charge of the picket to allow me and two men to
go and ascertain what their intentions were. He gave us leave.
We had a very difficult job to get down to the riverside on
account of the rocks, and when we got up to the men they showed
fight. We shot three of them with our pistols--one
each. Being on horseback we then attacked them with the lance.
One daring fellow struck at me, and I couldn't get at him. He
slightly wounded my horse and then made a run for the river.
I jumped from my horse, and, going into the water after him,
ran him through with my lance. Meanwhile, the other two of my
companions had settled the two remaining men. All this while
a heavy fire had played on us from the enemy's battery. We
had now to ride for our lives. On getting back to the camp,
the officer in command sent me to the camp with a note to the
Colonel of the regiment, who made me a lance-corporal then and
there.
[Illustration: "I RAN HIM THROUGH WITH MY LANCE."]
I might say I was two years in the saddle, almost continuously
fighting. I was with Sir Colin when he retook Cawnpore from the Gwalior
rebels. We went to the aid of General Wyndham, who had been repulsed.
We crossed the bridge of boats under a heavy fire, but forced our way
in. As soon as our brave leader got his men in position, he carried
everything before him. We could still see traces of Nana Sahib's
atrocity in June, and every soldier vowed vengeance. The affair that I
was in when I gained my Victoria Cross was before Lucknow, the second
time. Early in 1858 the rebels had strongly fortified the place, and it
became necessary for Sir Colin to take it. Our regiment had some hot
work. It was on March 6 that I won the Cross, in action at Lucknow,
having dismounted in the presence of the enemy and taken up the body of
Major Percy Smith, 2nd Dragoon Guards, which I attempted to bring off
the field, and after being obliged to relinquish it, being surrounded
by the enemy's cavalry, going a second time, under a heavy fire, to
recover the body, for which I received the Victoria Cross.
I will try and describe the fight, and what I saw of it. The enemy
appeared in great force on the race-course outside Lucknow, and the
9th Lancers, the 2nd Dragoon Guards, and two native cavalry regiments
were ordered to charge. The brigade swept on in grand style, and
clashed into the enemy. We had a fierce hand-to-hand fight; but our
troops behaved splendidly, and at last we broke them up. Then we were
obliged to retire under a heavy fire. As we did so Major Smith, of the
Dragoons, was shot through the body, and fell from his horse. Failing
to catch him, I sprang to the ground, and, throwing the bridle-rein
over my arm, raised the Major on to my shoulder; in this manner I ran
alongside of my horse for some hundreds of yards, until I saw the
enemy's cavalry close upon me. Clearly I couldn't get away with my
burden, so I determined to do what I could for myself.
Springing into my saddle, I shot the first Sepoy who charged, and with
my empty pistol felled another. This gave me time to draw my sword,
my lance having been left on the field. The Sepoys were now round me
cutting and hacking, but I managed to parry every slash and deliver
many a fatal thrust. It was parry and thrust, thrust and parry all
through, and I cannot tell you how many saddles I must have emptied.
The enemy didn't seem to know how to parry.
Taking advantage of this, I settled accounts with a jolly lot. I was
determined not to be taken alive. At last some of the Lancers saw me
and came to my rescue. Thinking the major might still be alive, I went
again to rescue him, but it was not until the enemy's forces were
driven back that we got his body.
After the action, General Sir Colin Campbell, General Sir Hope Grant,
and some of the cavalry officers shook hands with me and complimented
me.
In regard to the sword and lance, I certainly prefer the lance; the
lance is so keen, it goes through a man before he knows it. I was
always very careful never to let a swordsman get under my lance, and
in fighting with cavalry I made full use of the pennon to baffle an
enemy's horse.
The weapons of troops on active service are made as keen as razors,
and it was a common thing during the Mutiny to see a party of soldiers
under the shade of a great tree waiting their turn to get their blades
sharpened and the dints removed, ready for the next fight with the
rebels. Our gallant little army was like a ship cleaving its way
through the sea, for wherever we went, the enemy, like the waters,
closed in behind.
(_To be continued._)
[Illustration: LANCE-CORPORAL GOATE WINNING THE V.C.]
_Playwrights' Manuscripts._
We here present our readers with fac-similes of the manuscripts of
several of the most popular of living playwrights, chosen from some of
the best-known of their plays. Most of them tell their own story; but
we may call particular attention to the specimen by Mr. Irving, who
is not generally known to be a playwright. Yet the manner in which he
treats a drama like "Louis XI." (a page of which we give), by cutting,
adding, and writing in soliloquies, manifestly makes him a joint-author
in the play.
[Illustration: Fac-simile of a page of MS. from Mr. ROBERT BUCHANAN'S
play, _Clarissa_.]
[Illustration: Fac-simile of a page of MS. from Mr. GEORGE R. SIMS'
play, _The Lights o' London_.