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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1015, 19 January 1869, Page 2

Stbange if Tote.— -The London correspondent of a Wiltshire paper tells a most extraordinary story. He says : — " I have a word to say about a grievous scandal which is well known to military men, though scarcely to civilians. There is a certain militia regiment coming from the East end of London, whose martial appearance is satisfactory enough, but whose morale is lamentable. The privates are for the most part costermongers and thieves. When out for training they pick each other's pockets mercilessly; they rob their officers of watch and chain, and such like valuables ; and when they receive their pay the paymaster has to keep them at a distance while each man comes forward separately to receive his money, or the regiment would seize the treasure en Uoc and rush off* with it. Latterly, the men who had been standing in the front rank during several days' drill, came forward and declared that they would no longer do so, as their comrades behind stole everything from them. On another occasion, when they happened to be out for their month's training, during an event which brought a large number of persons into the London streets, one of the privates demanded leave, and on being refused by his commanding officer, insisted that he must have it, because he would otherwise be £5 out of pocket. Being asked how he could make so large a sum in a single day, he admitted without hesitation that he was a professional thief, and could not afford to lose such a day's harvest as that. Some weeks ago this precious regiment was down at Aldershot, and took to quarrelling with another military regiment. The fight began to grow serious, and at last it was necessary to call out a r egiment of linesmen and separate the combatants."