The Express.
London, England, 1855-08-10 00:00:00

beim of the friends of Poland are &fidget is that'
bet and experience which are required to keep a 1
public meeting to the bailees before i a' But we
begli
• 1 1
grmly believe that were all— dull .
&gland polled it wadi be faun t nine
ie t
411 wary twenty approve do 1 , ..r.
meat that was to have , subietted ' ... ion
on Wednesday eveilig, linkk\ pin ,s•"*.- it
having its substance embodied in a memlrial to the
Crown, and put 4.0 circulation ',with a view to obtain
signatures, in order that it wAy be preactted without''
low of timeZ, Surely one among the many noblemen
situ Peor eia .to have ' the rouge of Poland at heart
would be found willing to undertake the charge of
brio ging it under the cognisance of her MaiverT.
Or if this •.node of proceeding be deemed nnadvisable
what lzineiers their nireulating the petition itselt ter sig-
natures, in order that it may be presented to Parlia-
ment s• soon as the Legislature reAssembles?

SINCe the war began, how fearful:l has that been
Pasted which could least be spared—time. Granting
that the termination of forty years' peace found us
with an army unsuited for campaigning, what
has Government done to remedy the evil since
it was first admitted? If General SIMPSON'S army
leave their present scene of action, and take the
field against the Russian corps outside, will our
military administrative departments be found in
more serviceable order than they were before Alma

was fought ? Or will our new levies be more au fa/
in everything that concerns their comfort and
health in the field, than were the thousands
of their brave comrades who died last winter of
absolute want P In fewer words, what have those
in power done towards improving the condition of
our troops on service, even since the official light
was cast upon the Crimean horrors by Mr. ROEBUCK'S
committee? The answer can be but one. Much
has been achieved within the walls of public offices,
but little or nothing outside. Some of the army
departments have been handed over from the care
and charge of Incapacity A to the tender mercies of
Incapability B; but how will such changes better
the actual condition of the soldier, or what will
it teach him in the way of making the most
of every situation he can possibly be placed in
during a campaign ? And yet much—very much—
might have been done towards training our men des-
tined for the seat of war, even since the spring and
summer set in. Months ago we drew attention to
the camp then in course of construction at Aldershott,
sad pointed out what blunders were being committed
not only in the construction of the hate, but still more
in the objects which the military authorities seemed
bent in carrying out when everything would be ready
for the reception of the troops. Have our predictions
been verified ? What has the soldier been taught at
Aldershott which he could not have learnt equally well
in any of the numerous barracks now standing
empty throughout the kingdom ? Less awful even
than Chobham, the present camp has been used
through our short English summer as a huge drill
ground, upon which to teach militia recruits the
elementary parts of their exercise ; and Low that we
are getting on in the autumn, and shorter days begin
to show that the fair weather will ere long come to
an end, Aldershott is to be the scene of field days on
a large scale—an extra novelty for pleasure-hunters
during the long vacation.
Was it fur this that immense sums of money were
voted by Parliament for the erection of the camp?
Did not all England believe and expect that whenever
the huts were ready for the troops Aldershott would
be used as a sort of Stashing school for regiments
and detachments about to embark for the seat of war?
What were we told, or given to understand, respect-
ing the construction of fieldworks, which every pri-
vate soldier was to have a practical knowledge of
before leaving this country for the Crimea? Has
one man joined the army in the East carrying with
him the fruits of any such tuition ? Or what has been
taught any one of the several corps which have lately
left for Sebastopol, in the art of cooking in the field ?
Nothing—truly and literally nothing whatever has
been done as to instructing our troops in the art of
campaigning—the knowledge by which one man is
healthy, comfortable at .d well fed, whilst hi 4 more
ignorant neighbour is sick and feeble from diarrhma—
eating his food nearly raw, and unable to raise a'
shelter for his head, even where the materials abound.
As we pointed out at the time, the errors of the
undertaking commenced with the first planks that were
laid together for the construction of the Aldershott
huts. It was not requisite that hundreds of car-
penters should erect summer habitations for our
troops, but it was absolutely necessary that the men
should be taught to build huts for themselves. There
was, and always is in the English army, the right
stuff to work upon. In every regiment there are to
be found numbers of individuals who, before their
enlistment, worked at some trade or handicraft,
Amongst these there are quite enough carpenters,
joiners, blacksmiths, and masons to erect any sort of,
building required in the field. But to be effective
they must be organised into something like a body
of workmen accustomed to help each other, every
man having his own task to perform. We have the
means at oar disposal, but we neglect to avail ourselves
of them, and the consequence is, that, except for the
purpose of actual fighting, our soldiers are utterly
melees, they cannot even take care of themselves.
But not even is the use of their weapons taught
the troops now at Aldershott. The school of mus-
ketry at Myths is far too distant from the camp to
be of the slightest use in furnishing instructors for
the troops; and, marvellous to relate, with the ex-
ception of the battalions of Guards lately gone there,
every regiment in the place is armed with that re-
spectable old gun called " Brown Bess." When to this
is added the fact that not a battery of artillery nor
• single troop of cavalry has yet been sent to Alder-
shott, our readers will perhaps wonder for what use
a million of money has been expended : we will try
and solve the problem. A few days hence the form
in camp is to be reviewed by her Messer. Two
troops of jack-booted giants are to be sent from each
etf tho mounted household corps to take part in the
pageant. A battery of guns is to come up express
from Woolwich. Three battalions of Foot Guards
have already joined the force. The militia corps
in the camp have been drilled up to a point
which will enable them to take a part is the proceed-
ings. Thousands of people will go down from Lon-
don to witness the review. The railway companies
will run extra trains, and add greedy to their usual
profits. There will be grand salute for the QUEEN.
Lord CULDIGAN will dash about at the head of the
Cavalry, riding at that pace for which he is so dis-
tinguished. There will be much dust if the weather
is fine, and more mud if the contrary. Muskets, big
guns, and carbines will be fired in great profusion ;
and a grand charge of horse will end the
military entertainment—men, women, and chil-
dren returning to town under the firm con-
viction that they now know a vast deal about military
man% sad wondering very much why such fine
troops dealt take Sebastopol. But for this 'hew,
Jonn Dm has paid a million of money; and it
mods no great amount of wisdom to perceive did
nothing has been done in teaching our men that of
which they are so ignorant—the art of campaigning.
Yet we might have dose this without much tree-
hie, and at infinitely less =moo. There is not very