expressly laid down formerly;

admitted in Mutiny Act,

the present

tiny acts which provided for the punishment of officers and soldiers for military offences (such as mutiny, disobedience, striking an officer in the execution of his office, &c.) by civil courts, especially provided "that nothing contained therein should be construed to abridge the royal power of forming, making and establishing articles of war, and creating and constituting courts martial, and inflicting penalties by sentence or judgment of the same, in such manner as might have been done by the royal authority, beyond the seas, in time of war, before the making of this act."

The mutiny act of the current year does, in effect, make the same provision, by expressly declaring, that it shall be lawful for her majesty to make articles of war, and by providing that no person within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or the British Isles, shall by such articles be subject to be transported or to suffer loss of life or limb, except for crimes which by this act are expressly made liable to such punishand acted on in ments. The offences defined in the thirteenth Articles of War. and three following articles of war, for which death or transportation may be awarded by general courts martial, are not to be found in the mutiny act these articles, derived from the royal prerogative, are obligatory on the army; and, similarly, all the other articles of war, in foreign parts, are binding on her majesty's forces, independent of the reflected power of the mutiny act. As to the constitution of courts martial, the the Articles of Oath of each member undoubtedly refers to "an ing the Mutiny act now in force for the punishment of mutiny

In certain cases the soldier would consider

War as prolong

Act.

(1) 3 and 4 Ann, c. 16, s. 38.

and desertion, and other crimes therein mentioned," but, assuming that the new mutiny act had not arrived at a station beyond seas, at the period when the old mutiny act may be extinct, yet the unrevoked articles of war would, to a certain extent, prolong the influence of the mutiny act to which they refer, and with which they are circulated to the army and published in general orders.

law excuses not.

The first and second sections of the articles of Ignorance of the war, with certain other articles, which specify the most material duties and obligations of military men, and which contain a declaration of crimes and punishments, are required to be read and published at the head of every corps in the service, once in every three months. An abstract of the most important duties and obligations, and of the penalties incidental to the commission of the most conspicuous offences, is inserted in the personal account book of soldiers. Every precaution is therefore taken, that a soldier may Publication of not be betrayed into crime, from ignorance as to War, the penalty involved by it. That axiom, which

rejects ignorance of the law

as an excuse, can

never be more justly applied than to military delinquents.

the Articles of

Regulations and Orders.

The general regulations and orders for the and General army, approved by her majesty, published by order of the commander in chief, and directed to be read to officers and soldiers at least once in every three months, have, so far as concerns the regulating of that body, for whose guidance they were framed, all the binding force of military

3

unreservedly binding on the

sion.

law. In a military court, they are received as evidence on record; but by a court of civil judicature, they would only be admitted in evidence, when duly supported by vivá voce testimony, as any other written instrument may be. The maxim, quod principi placuerit, legis habet vigorem, is appropriate when applied to the law Military profes- military, the only exception arising from the limitation to declare crimes punishable by loss of life or limb, within the United Kingdom; and that other maxim of roman law imperator solus et conditor et interpres legis existimatur, is scarcely less so. The mutiny act is doubtless the foundation of military law as now obtaining, and especially with reference to its influence in the United Kingdom; but the superstructure and the interpretation of it, as to military courts, rests solely with the crown. The only ground on which an order, issuing in the name of her majesty, and duly promulgated, could be, in any degree, questioned, would occur in the almost impossible case of a palpable discordance with, or rather contradiction to, some provision of the mutiny act or other enactment of the legislature; the court, in such improbable case,-which, if it ever arose, could only be by inadvertence in the channel through which the order may be conveyed,-would be bound to consider the act of parliament as the true criterion of the intention of her majesty, being bound by the oath, (enjoined by the articles of war,) to the letter of the statute.

Courts composed

of land and

Courts martial, composed of officers of the marine officers land and marine forces, if held for the trial of

are regulated by

the Acts and

ticles for each an officer or soldier of the land forces, are regu

prisoner may

other.

in the East Indies are regu

lated, to all intents and purposes, in like manner service, as the as if they were composed of officers of the land belong to one or forces only, whether the commanding officer, by whose orders such court martial be assembled, belongs to the land or marine forces, and the provisions of the mutiny act, and the oaths thereby prescribed, shall be applicable; and if held for the trial of a marine officer or soldier, they are, in like manner, to be regulated as if composed of marine officers only, whether assembled by an officer of the land or marine forces. Courts martial held in the East-Indies, are Courts Martial guided by the mutiny act and articles of war, lated by the Acts when held for the trial of an officer or soldier of which may the queen's troops; and by the act for punishing prisoner on trial. mutiny and desertion of officers and soldiers in the service of the East-India company," and the articles of war established for the company's forces, when held for the trial of an officer or soldier in the service of the united company, notwithstanding the officers to be tried may also hold a commission from her majesty. The queen's Queen's troops troops, when serving in the East-Indies, are duly Articles of War to observe and to obey the articles of war esta- not at variance blished for the company's troops, where such of War. articles are not at variance with the articles of

(1) Mut. Act, Sec. 13. Art. War, 89.

(2) Marine Mut. Act, Sec. 9.-A general court martial was held in 1818, at Portsmouth, for the trial of lieutenant J. A. Moore, of the royal marine artillery, by virtue of a warrant under the hands of three of the lords commissioners, for executing the office of lord high admiral, directed to lieutenant-colonel Moncrieffe, of the marines, as president; on which court several officers of the land forces sat in conjunction with marine officers. The finding of the court was approved under the hands of three lords commissioners. A court similarly composed of land and marine officers, and held under a warrant from the commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral, was held at Portsmouth, in February, 1835, for the trial of Captain H. J. Murton, of the royal marines.

(3) The 3 & 4 Vict. cap 37. (4) Mut. Act, Sec. 13. Art. War, 89.

and Articles

apply to the

to obey the

of Company's troops, when

with the Articles

Enactment respecting the sale of commissions.

Offences against

former Acts may

existing Acts:

time:

war made for the goverment of all the queen's forces.'

There is a provision in the 49 Geo. 3, c. 126, s. 8, which it may be right to notice, when referring to the laws and regulations by which courts martial are bound. The eighth section of this act is imperative on courts martial, and declares a penalty, without any discretionary power in the court, on conviction by a general court martial; it will be adverted to under the head' of peremptory punishments necessarily awarded by courts martial.

Offences against any former mutiny act or be tried under articles of war, are punishable under the existing mutiny act, provided the offence shall not appear limitation as to to have been committed more than three years before the issuing of the warrant for trial, unless the person accused, by reason of his having absented himself, or of some other manifest impediment, may not have been amenable to justice within that period, in which case such person is liable to be tried at any time, not exceeding two years after the impediment shall have ceased.3

Offences to be investigated where they

occur:

By the general regulations of the army, general or other officers, commanding on foreign stations, are restricted from sending home officers or men, with articles of accusation pending against them, except in cases of the most urgent necessity; it being essential towards the due administration of justice, that when charges are preferred, they should be thoroughly investigated on the spot.*

(1) Art. War, 143.

(2) See chapter x., and general regulations, p. 50.

(3) Mut. Act, Sec. 20. See farther p. 8.

(2) Gen. Reg. p. 243.