The penalties to which an officer is liable are (I) death, (2) penal servitude (for life), (3) imprisonment, (4) cashiering, (5) dismissal, (6) reduction in seniority of rank (though this does not involve reduction from a higher rank to a lower rank), (7) reprimand, (8) stoppages of pay.
It was indicated above that the Army Act provided for the rights of officers and soldiers. An officer who thinks himself wronged has a right of appeal either to the Army Council, or through the Army Council to the King. The soldier has a right of appeal through his captain and his commanding officer to a prescribed general officer.
In 1907 the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act was brought into force. This Act was defined as "an Act to provide for the reorganization of his majesty's military forces, and for that purpose to authorize the establishment of county associations and the raising and maintenance of a Territorial Force, and for amending the Acts relating to the reserve forces." In so far as an individual soldier of the Territorial Forces is concerned, this Act provided that men of the Territorial Force should be liable to serve in any part of the United Kingdom, but that no part of the Territorial Force should be carried or ordered to go out of the United Kingdom. The Act also provided that the Army Act should apply to the Territorial Force under the conditions laid down in the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907. For a closer study of this subject reference to the above-quoted Acts is suggested. It is of interest to recall that when this Act was before the House of Parliament grave objection was taken in some quarters to the fact that as the Act stood members of the Territorial Force could be called out for duty in aid of the civil power in the event of riot or disorder, and would, therefore, become "involved" in a trade dispute. A pledge, however, that the Force would not be so used was given by the then secretary of State, and the Bill went through.
rapidly realized, however, that the withdrawal of soldiers from the Front to undergo terms of imprisonment in the military prisons in the field was a serious menace to the security of the army, and in consequence, in 1915, the Army Suspensions of Sentences Act was passed. Briefly, this act enabled a sentence, no matter how severe, e.g., penal servitude for life, to be suspended, and the offender, therefore, could be retained for duty. The Act still remains in being.
It will be here convenient to make some reference to the methods by which the death penalty was carried out during the World War. The sentence of death can and could only be carried out on active service by the authority and under the confirmation of the general officer commanding in chief. The procedure exist ing at the outbreak of the War was that the proceedings of the court-martial which sentenced the accused soldier to death were forwarded to general headquarters, where they were reviewed by the judge-advocate-general as to their legality, and were then laid before the commander-in-chief for his decision. All he had to guide him was a copy of the soldier's "conduct sheet," which disclosed his character, together with, possibly, evidence con tained in the proceedings as to his character from the soldier's company commander. It was rapidly realized that these par ticulars provided wholly insufficient data for the commander-in chief to take a decision of such momentous importance. In con sequence, entirely extra judicial procedure was adopted, and a complete picture was presented of the whole circumstances under which the act was committed. The state of discipline of the unit was fully disclosed. The opinion of the various inter mediary superior authorities was required as to whether or not the death penalty should be carried out as a deterrent. The fighting value of the unit was brought under consideration, as also that of the soldier concerned, and the soldier's value as a fighting man was made the subject of close investigation and report. Medical opinion and the expert opinion of neurologists was sought, and in cases where nervous breakdown or shell-shock was suggested, the opinion of medical boards was also required. It is gratifying to record that large numbers of soldiers who had been sentenced to death by courts-martial had their sentences commuted and were dealt with under the Army Suspensions of Sentences Act. It is more gratifying to record that 89% of the death sentences which were passed were, in fact, never carried out.