Mr. Wynnsaid, he held in his hand a Petition from Mr. Orr, late captain in the Rothsay and Caithness Fencible Regiment, complaining of his being dismissed the service without a court-martial, and praying for inquiry into his conduct. The hon. gentleman then proceeded to state, that captain Orr had brought charges against another officer in the same regiment, who was acquitted, and on whose acquittal captain Orr was dismissed. He said that it was too great a power for a court-martial to assume to dismiss the 827 prosecutor, because they had acquitted the prisoner. They could not judge of all the motives of the prosecutor. He believed the reason why captain Orr was dismissed, was because he had not taken other notice of his brother officer's conduct to him. This was an encouragement to duelling, and was subversive of military discipline.
The Petition was brought up and read, setting forth, "That from the year 1795 until the peace in 1802, the petitioner served as a captain in the Rothsay and Caithness Fencible Regiment; and in the year 1803 he obtained a company in the 1st or Berwickshire Regiment of Militia, in which regiment he continued to serve till the 26th July 1809, when he was dismissed the regiment, not only without any court-martial being held upon him, but even without any imputation of misconduct, except indeed the gratuitous and unfounded censure contained in the sentence of a court martial held upon ensign Nicholl, in which the petitioner was prosecutor, and which he had no opportunity of repelling; and that, as the cause of the petitioner's removal from the regiment was never intimated to him, he is at a loss to know against what charge of supposed misconduct he is to defend himself, conscious of never having failed in the punctual discharge of his duly while he had the honour to remain in his Majesty's service; and praying, that his conduct may be fully inquired into, and that the House will take such steps thereupon as to them shall seem fit."
§ Sir George Warrendersaid, that he had made inquiry into this affair, and could say that the hon. gentleman was mistaken as to the grounds of the dismissal of captain Orr. The grounds of hit dismissal were the failure of the charges he brought forward on the court-martial. The result of the court-martial was, that the charges were frivolous and vexatious. The court-martial also pronounced an opinion, that this proceeding did not appear to them to be wholly dictated by zeal for his Majesty's service. After such a sentence, it could not be supposed that his continuance in the regiment would have been advisable. Representations had been made of his conduct to lord Cathcart, who then commanded the forces in Scotland; and his lordship, being strongly of that opinion wrote to the lord-lieutenant of East Lothian to that effect. It was from the representations made from the lord-lieute- 828 nant of the county to the secretary of state that this officer was dismissed; and he believed that the petitioner was entirely mistaken in supposing that it was for not fighting a duel that he was dismissed.
§ The Petition was ordered to lie on the table.