THE MURDER AT ALDERSHOTT.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1710, 25 March 1862, Page 5

THE MURDER AT ALDERSHOTT.

On Wednesday afternoon, the last tribute of respect was paid to the remains of the. lamented sergeant Dixon. In anticipation of the funeral partaking of a more than ordinary character, and being invested with more than the usual

solemnity, from the mournful circumstances connected with it, a great crowd assembled at.' ■ Hospital-bill, and along the line of route by which the melancholy procession was expected 1 to pass. Invitations had been issued to the--1 sergeants of tlie various corps stationed in th , [ camp, requesting their attendance on the occasion, and the numbers of these, as well as cor- [ porals and privates who took part in the funeral j showed how great was the reprobation of the' : \ deed which had called for their presence, and . i marked also the deep sympathy universally felt for tbe unfortunate deceased. Shortly before two o'clock the troops intending to taktfpartin the procession formed -up iiv tie West Block, and about two o'clock marched to Hospital-hill, where they remained in line until the arrival of the Military tn in cart for the conveyance of the body. A more solemn and imposing spectacle than that which now presented itself could not well be conceived. The troops silent and extending in one unbroken Hoe almost as far as tbe eye could reach, the noble forms and picturesque dress of the Highlanders, the gravity of the demeanour which characterised the whole, and the hushed expectancy of the crowd of human beings awaiting the stait of the procession — all united formed one of those .natural groupings which would have dazzled the conception of an aitist, butwhich the most inspired pencil would have failed to realise. The body having been fetched from the dead-house by a detachment of the 78th Highlanders, was placed in the cart, with the cap, sword, and scarf of the deceased on the coffin. The mournful procession then commenced its slow progress to the South Camp Church, the solemn music of the ••Dead March" stealing upon the ear with melancholy effect, and the reversed arms and muffled drums forming a striking accompaniment. Colouel Ewart, Colonel Hamilton, and all the officers of the 78th Regiment at present in Aldershott, were in attendance. We also observed Colonel North, 60th Rifles^ and several other officers of different regiments. On tbe procession arriving at the South Camp Church, the body was conveyed to the farther end of the edifice, near the pulpit, and the customary service of the Church of England having been read, the Rev. H. Huleatt addressed the assembled troops as follows: — 41 Officers, non-commissioned officers, and men, we have assembled here together to-day to pay the last tribute of respect, and to perform the last service of holy religion over the remains of our departed brother. After a long and meritorious service in his regiment, hig life was suddenly cut short in the midst of us. God, in his mercy and goodness, which is extended to every one of us, had shielded his head in more than one hardfought battle. After deliverance from the dangers of the Indian mutiny — after long service in his trying calling — he came home safe, in health, and in the possession of happiness was living with, his wife amongst us, when he was suddenly sent into eternity by the dastard hand of a vile assassin. That sudden, awfully sudden message which came to him, warns each one of us to be also ready for a summons, however hasty, to the presence of our Maker, Think of it, for a moment, — that man last Saturday was in our midst, with as good a lease of life as any of us; within five, minutes he was before Jehovah's awful throne. " Officers, non-commissioned officers, and men, the untimely end of 'our departed brother ought to teach one and all that here the truth of our beautiful burial service, that in the midst of life yre are • in death, and that there is none of whom we can seek succour but the Lord. No doubt it is a Christian duty to pay every tribute of respect.. to the memory of the departed ; but can sympathy and respect and honour restore the husband and father, the wife and desolate child? pan all the sympathy and respect in the world obtain for our loved brother one single minute to prepare "for that eternity whither he has been so suddenly called? My beloved brethren, try to carry to your barrack rooms the only sure holdfast in this life, that there is none of whom we may seek succour but the Lord, who is willing to pardon and forgive all our sins, if we shall have had trust in him, through the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is a comforting Teflection that when the enemy Death found our departed brother he was at the post of duty. lam safe in '. saying that in the history of the gallant regiment from its first formation, there is not another instance of an officer, non-commissioned officer, or man coming to his death in fsuch a disgraceful way. Our departad brother fell by the hand of an assassin, by the hand of one wearing his own uniform. Highlanders, I will not disgrace your noble corps by calling him a 78th Highlander. The name of your regiment has become a household word in every family, you are known throughout the world as men of soldierly bearing men of daring and gallant action. A more base and cowardly act never disgraced the British service than that which took place in your barrackroom last Saturday. I feel sure, despite his outward boasting, the assassin is a chicken-hearted dastard and coward. lam convinced that had he received a flogging, he would have cried like the youngest child in the barrack-room. I say, again, I will not disgrace your noble regiment by calling him a 78th Highlander. We do not look upon Judas, the traitor, as a true apostle, though he was found in the company, and sat at the table of our Lord. This wretched man, though wearing your uniform, and found in your barrack-room, v had none of the spirit of a 78th Highlander. I will not speak of him as a soldier; for the word" II soldier " is an honourable title, which was borne by Joshua and David and others, mentioned in the Bible. I wish every one to remember that the devil is nowhere in Scripture called by the honorable title of soldier. He is called a coward and a murderer. Murderers always are cowards and not soldiers, and every murderer is a child and servant of the devil. I believe in my heart that the wretched murderer is also a liar, for if the accounts I see in the papers be correct he .told a gross and deliberate ialsehflod. Men, be.not mistaken ; every approach to that act is an act of the devil. Our great captain, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to destroy the works of the devil. Officers, non-commissioned officers, and. men here present, Christian people, I ask you in the name of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to unite with me in offering up our fervent prayers in this house that God may be pleased to save the British, army from this deep disgrace. Let us pray Him to save us from becoming a by- word among the nations of the earth for this horrible offence. Let us offer up our prayers to the Father that of His great mercy he will be a father to the poor orphan child, and a husband to the desolate and bereaved wife. Let us offer up our prayers for the poor corporal, that God may assuage his sufferings,, .and that if it is His good pleasure He may open to him the means of getting an honest . livelihood here, and fit him for an eternal hereafter? . Let us pray that of his Son we may be sanctified and may produce more excellent fruit, and a, more, exalted spirit in the army ; that we may faithfully serve our Queen and country, and through.'.- the merits of our Bedeeiner arrive at the right handof God, where he will be glad to welcome every true soldier and servant of His cross." . „ ." The mournful cortegi then proceeded from the church to the cemetery, where the Highlanders,'with doffed bonnets, gathered -neaV'th'ev grave, and the other troops stationed themselves around, and the last religious rites having been performed in an inipressivemanner by the rev. gentleman, three rounds from the firing party at intervals of .about two minutes, announced to the assembled crowd on the heights that a; ■;./■, brave soldier had joined his kindred dust.— -^ Times, November 39. 1