§ SIR EDWARD BUXTONsaid, that he wished to put a question to the hon. Under Secretary for the Colonies, with respect to an occurrence at Cape Coast Castle, on the coast of Africa. In 1847, a native named Robert Erskine (aged 21 or 22), who was in the service of Captain Murray, an officer stationed there, was suspected of having stolen from him some golden ornaments, and he was in consequence most cruelly and inhumanly tortured by Captain Murray and by another officer named Captain Stewart, for eleven days, so that, according to the statement of the acting Governor his life was in danger, and he had been in the hospital for six weeks in consequence of the treatment he had received. After all, the stolen articles were found in the great coat-pocket of a soldier, who pleaded guilty to the theft, and Robert Erskine was acquitted. He wished to know whether any, and if so what, proceedings had been taken against Messrs. Murray and Stewart; and, secondly, what compensation, if any, the Government were prepared to give to Robert Erskine, for the sufferings he had undergone?
§ MR. HAWESsaid, that as a statement of the facts of this case had been for some time on the table of the House, he was sorry that the hon. Member should have gone into this matter so imperfectly; of course it was out of his (Mr. Hawes's) power to go into a detailed explanation of an affair that occurred so long ago. The main facts of the case, however, were these: the alleged offence against the boy, Robert Erskine, was committed in 1847, while he was in the service of an officer serving then. As he was at the time in private service, he had of course his remedy, if he chose to take it, before one of the courts of law; but no indictment was preferred, and the officer charged left the 1046 colony. Nearly two years afterwards, the case was brought before the noble Lord the Secretary for the Colonies, who ordered an inquiry on the spot; and in consequence of the opinions transmitted from Cape Coast Castle, the papers relating to the conduct of these officers were laid before the Commander-in-Chief. Upon consulting the law officers of the Crown and the Judge Advocate, it was found that they could not be indicted in this country for any offences they might have committed, but that they must be indicted before the courts in the colony. In the meantime the officers had gone to other parts of the world, and the case having occurred nearly four years ago, so that, under these circumstances, the question of the punishment of these officers rested entirely in the hands of the Commander-in-Chief, as it was not a matter in which the Secretary for the Colonies had any control. As to compensation, it was quite clear that, inasmuch as the boy was in private service when the offence was committed, by an individual not holding office under the Colonial Government, compensation could not be awarded by Government, but must be sought by legal proceedings instituted by the party injured, in the courts of the colony.