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martial. General Orders by the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Combermere,
of the 19th of March, 1827, declare that his Excellency is of opinion
that the quiet and orderly habits of the native soldiers are such
that it can very seldom be necessary to have recourse to the
punishment of flogging, which might be almost entirely abolished with
great advantage to their character and feelings; and directs that no
native soldier shall in future be sentenced to corporal punishment
unless for the crime of _stealing, marauding, or gross
insubordination_, where the individuals are deemed unworthy to
continue in the ranks of the army. No such sentence by a regimental,
detachment, or brigade court martial was to be carried into effect
till confirmed by the general officer commanding the division. When
flogged the soldier was invariably to be discharged from the service.

A circular letter from the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Combermere, on
the 16th of June, 1827, directs that sentence to corporal punishment
is not to be restricted to the three crimes of _theft, marauding, or
gross insubordination_; but that it is not to be awarded except for
very serious offences against discipline, or actions of a disgraceful
or infamous nature, which show those who committed them to be unfit
for the service; that the officer who assembles the court may remit
the sentence of corporal punishment, and the dismissal involved in
it; but cannot carry it into effect till confirmed by the officer
commanding the division, except when an immediate example is
indispensably necessary, as in the case of plundering and violence on
the part of soldiers in the line of march. In all cases the soldier
who has been flogged must be dismissed.

A circular letter by the Commander-in-Chief, Sir E. Barnes, 2nd of
November, 1832, dispenses with the duty of submitting the sentence of
regimental, detachment, and brigade courts martial for confirmation
to the general officer commanding the division; and authorizes the
officer who assembles the court to carry the sentence into effect
without reference to higher authority; and to mitigate the punishment
awarded, or remit it altogether; and to order the dismissal of the
soldier who has been sentenced to corporal punishment, though he
should remit the flogging, 'for it may happen that a soldier may be
found guilty of an offence which renders it improper that he should
remain any longer in the service, although the general conduct of