Commissioner Middleton married, Dec. 11, 1802, Susan Maria, daughter of John Martin Leake, of Thorpe Hall, co. Essex, Esq.
WILLIAM SHIELD, Esq
Resident Commissioner of Plymouth Dock-Yard.
[Retired Captain.]
The result of an action brought against this officer, in the Court of Common Pleas, in March 1792, gave peculiar energy to the 36th naval article of war[1]. The plaintiff complained of an assault and violence used to his person, in consequence of his refusing to obey an order of Mr. Shield, who was first Lieutenant of the Saturn 74, and for the time being, commanding officer, which order was in itself of the nature of punishment; namely, directing him to go to the mast-head, and there to remain for a certain time, or until called down. On his refusing to obey, Lieutenant Shield ordered some men to secure him with a rope, and hoist him up to the masthead. The usage of the service, with respect to the mastheading of midshipmen for minor offences, was proved by the testimony of several naval officers. Lord Chief Justice Loughborough observed, in summing up, that the custom of the service justified the first order, and rendered it legal; therefore the disobeying such order justified the measures taken to enforce it. The jury, without hesitation, returned a verdict for the defendant.
On the 16th July, in the preceding year, Admiral Lord Hood, Vice-Admiral Hotham, Rear-Admiral Gower, Sir Hyde Parker, and Captain Richard Onslow, had, in compliance with an order from the Admiralty, formed themselves into a Court of Inquiry, in order to ascertain whether Lieutenant Shield’s conduct
- ↑ By the 36th naval article of war, it is declared, “that all other crimes not capital, committed by any person or persons in the fleet, which are not mentioned in this act, or for which no punishment is hereby directed to be inflicted, shall be punished according to the laws in such case used at sea.” This sweeping clause applies to the punishment of those offences which were not foreseen by the senate at the time of legislation, and which could not therefore be specifically provided against; and, in order that justice may not be retarded in its course, nor offences pass with impunity, the old standing customs and usage of the service are directed to be resorted to, in like manner as the unwritten law is made auxiliary to the statute.
