The Press.
London, England, 1858-01-09 00:00:00

THE PRESS, JANUARY 9, 1858.

we fear that the mode in which it has hitherto
been carried out has rendered it worse than
useless.
Before showing how it has been pos-
sible for the ingenuity even of the Minister
for War and his satellites to turn what was in
tended for a blessing into a positive curse for
the soldier, it will be necessary to explain in a
few words the nature of the system thus
superseded. The kit, which was paid for, as
we stated above, by the recruit himself, was
supplied from the Quartermaster's stores.
These stores were obtained by the command-
ing officer from whatever tradesmen he chose
to employ for the purpose of supplying not
only new kits to recruits, but also replacing
such portions of those already issued as from
time to time became unserviceable. No
articles were placed in store without having
been inspected by a regimental board com•
posed of captains, and as it was a point of
honour with each commander of a company to
keep his men out of debt, and therefore to
prevent as much as possible a demand for new
issues, there was every safeguard that the
supplies should be of the best description.
When the change in the system was an-
nounced it was generally supposed that the
"free kit' would be issued as before from the
Quartermaster's stores, the only difference
being that the 31. which it coat would bo paid
by the public, while the recruit would receive
the remaining 21. as his bounty. But unfor-
tunately at this time the authorities of the War
Department had just undertaken to supply
the whole army with clothing, and they could
not rest satisfied without completing the
equipment of the soldier. It was represented
to them that the undertaking which they had
already in hand would fully occupy the
energies of a young department crudely and
hastily formed in the midst of a gigantic war—
that even in time of peace 12,000 kits would
be required every year, each containing
thirty-six different articles—that the in-
spection of tht.se 432,000 articles, if pro-
perly performed, would bring to a dead lock
a department already over-taxed, or if
merely nominal, would render the soldier
liable to injury ; and that, as it was intended
to replace unserviceable necessaries as here-
tofore from the Quartermaster's stores at the
soldier's expense, there did not seem any valid
reason for altering the old system further than
in the mode of payment.
These arguments might have prevailed had
not an ill-starred economical genius sprung
up, with one of those "penny wise and
pound foolish" schemes which are so
rife in Government departments. " If,"
said he, " the lieutenant-colonel of a regiment
" can buy 120 kits at a retail price
"of W. a piece, surely the Government can con-
" tract for 12,000 at a wholesale'price of 21. 14s.
" each. In this manner the War-office would
" not only enjoy the credit of having repealed
" an obnoxious regulation, but also would save,
" even in time of peace, between 3,0001. and
" 4,000/. ayear." This representation waslexactly
suited to the taste of the higher authorities of
the department—all counter arguments were
at once overborne—all reasoning a scouted,
_

and it was finally determined that Lord PAN-
was should not only have the honour of
promising, but also of supplying " free kits" to
all future defenders of our country. This de-
cision having been arrived at, no time was lost
in calling for tenders for their supply, and
great was the rejoicing among tho economists
of the War Department when a contractor
was found who offered to supply them, not at
2/. 14s , as had been expected, but at 2/. 11s.
a piece.
True it was that the firm of which
this gentleman is the representative had
supplied infamous material to the Land Trans-
port corps in the Crimea, and had been mer-
cilessly exposed by Colonel 111'11fuano before
the select committee on contracts. True it
was that in a large garrison, unless rumour
greatly belied him, he had been excluded from
the barracks by a peremptory order of the
commandant, for certa►n sufficient reasons.
But what of that? His work-people might
be ground down by insufficient pay ; things
might be "made pleasant" to the inspectors
at Weedon ; the soldier might be defrauded
by having bad articles palmed off upon him,

• - - ..._

but the great principle of always accepting
the lowest tender would be maintained, and,
above all, Os. instead of Os. would be saved on
every set.
The contract was accordingly concluded
for the whole number of kits required
with an engagement that they should be deli-
vered at Weedon in the course of September
last, and 5,000 were sent in about that time.
But they could neither be inspected nor
passed, for the contractor had neglected to
forward a sample pattern of his supply to the
War Department, there to be sealed, if found
equal to the original pattern, and sent to
Weedon as the guide for the inspector. At
length this necessary step was taken, but the
thirty six articles composing the set were pro-
nounced utterly inferior to the pattern; a
second supply was sent in with the same re-
sult ; a third has been partially passed ; and,
although pattern articles have a fourth time
been submitted to inspection in London, we
shall be surprised to learn that even now,
three and a half months after the whole supply
should have been delivered, it has been found
possible to approve of one complete kit.
Meantime, recruits have enlisted in con-
siderable numbers. It was requisite
that they should be supplied with ne-
cessaries in some way or other. What, then,
waa to be done ? Some lieutenant-colonels of
regiments were persuaded to try the kits
already sent to Weedon, but the supplies were
no sooner received than returned with a state-
ment that in the whole course of their expe-
rience articles of such bad quality had never
been issued. In other cases the War Depart-
ment was compelled to return to the old sys-
tem, and desired commanding officers to
procure necessaries as they could. But, unfor-
tunately, the measures of Lord PANMURIC had
already ruined that system. For, in conse-
quence of the whole of the contract having
been given to one firm, instead of having been
distributed among two or three, the general
manufacture of these articles was stopped, and
the persons who were commissioned by the
colonels to purchase kits found they could be
obtained only from one house.
These supplies were in general surprisingly
bad, but the need was so great that in many
instances the Regimental Boards, feeling it
was better for their men to have anything
rather than nothing, passed the goods, certi-
fied the bills, and forwarded them to the War-
office for payment.
We should like to have been by when the
originator of the scheme received these ac-
counts ; his face grew long as he saw that each
kit was charged at 3/., but it grew longer still
when he perceived that the name of the firm
at the head of the bill was identical with that
of the contractors for the Government supply
at 21. lls. But so it was; and the War-office
has been compelled to pay that sum for sets
of regimental necessaries which were too bad
even to be submitted for inspection, and the
contractor has found his new trade so pro-
fitable that he has at length deliberately
broken his contract, laughing after his great
gains at any paltry fine to which he may be
liable.

These facts are startling, but they are
capable of proof, and we would recommend
our statement as a fit subject for the investi-
gation of the select committee on contracts
during the next session, for it must be re-
membered that this is a question of vital im-
portance to the soldier, inasmuch as he has to
replace every unserviceable article at his own
expense, and therefore if all are not of the
best description at first, he suffers a grievous
injustice.