January 16.
Tae arrival from England of the Army Council's decision in fall text touching the case of Lieut. H. C. Woods, 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards, supplies the last chapter ina story of unusual interest and enables an onlooker to form a comprehensive opinion of its merits, From the telegrams which we have published it will be remembered that on November 19 a Court of Inquiry was opened at Chelsea Barracks to examine the complaints of Lieut. Woods that he had been unfairly used in confidential reports of his superior officers and that pressure had been brought to bear upon him,—here an unpleasant suspicion of " ragging" was introduced into the case which we are glad to say was not fairly substantiated by the Inquiry,—to resign his commission. The investigation was—_ conducted throughout with the utmost care and on both sides in the pleasantest possible manner, where there was much unavoidable unpleasantness. It lasted for five days; and upon its results the Army Council decided that the reports of which Mr. Woods complained were not biassed; that Mr. Woods himself was inefficient as a regimental officer and that his retention in the service was not to the interests of the Army. A sadder appendix to asad story has been written since by the compulsory resignation of that officer. It is impossible not to feel deep sympathy with the young man who, whatever his deficiencies, was undoubtedly keen to succeed in his profession and diligent in studies to which he trusted for advancement. But it is equally impossible not to feel that the Army Council's decision was fully justified. Indeed Mr. Woods' "repeated endeavours to enter the Staff College are a suggestion that he did not find himself at home in the special daties of an infantry commander and strong suspicions are aroused by the evidence taken at the Inquiry that, if his own inclinations
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.