The Express.
London, England, 1862-08-09 00:00:00

HIGH WATZI 11T_IONDON. BILLOGX

Tim DZiairciiiii,—ii7l9::::7lll•7looo7 lb. Us.
To-youov—ltornlag. Aftersom,

LONDON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 9.

TIM first paragraph relating to domestic affairs
in the recent Speech from the Throne expresses
"the admiration " with which her MAJzsry "has
" witnessed the undiminished zeal and patriotic
" spirit which continue to animate her Volunteer
" Forces, as well as the military efficiency which
" they have attained." No doubt there is in the
main ample ground for this tone of congratulation
and panegyric. The recent reviews, and especially
the grand field-day at Brighton on Easter Monday,
have sufficiently evinced the high state of dis-
cipline, power of endurance, and general military
efficiency that now distinguish the leading corps of
this noble force. There is no likelihood of any
falling off in the "patriotic spirit" of the mem-
bers. The only question is as to their " undi-
minished zeal " in attending the regular
exercises, the drills and parades, which are abso-
lutely essential to the continued strength and
efficiency of the companies and corps to which they
belong. The longer the force is established
the more completely, of course, will the temporary
and incidental causes of its early success be
withdrawn. The charm of novelty is over, and
the popular enthusiasm as well as the fashionable
excitement which attend a new movement of the
kind, have naturally to a great extent subsided.
Happily, too, the rumours of invasion so indus-
triously circulated two years ago are now silenced.
But the value and necessity of the force is rather
increased than diminished by the withdrawal of
these temporary supporta. That there is no longer
any rumour of invasion—the motive most influen-
tial in the formation of the force—is, indeed, one
of the greatest proofs of its success as well as one
of the strongest arguments for maintaining it in
. . . . . _ .

undiminished strength and vigour. The value
of the force, both in a moral and material point
of view, depends on its permanence, or rather on
its permanent efficiency, and it has been long
enough in existence for the country at large to
appreciate this vital fact. The main question
for the nation, therefore, is that which a Royal
Commission was recently appointed to investigate
—What are the beat means for maintaining the
permanent efficiency of the Volunteer force ? The
force being now one of the chief elements of our
national strength, a more important question
could scarcely be submitted for inquiry, and it is
one that obvigusly demands and deserves the
a►ost thorough investigation. The Commissioners

have finished their labours, and their Report
is,we believe, cu the eve of pnirlicatiou. We have
no. 'Wish to anticipate or prejudge its contents. But
/rem the communications we receive on the matter,
there is certainly reason to fear that the Com- ,
missioners have taken a somewhat narrow and
partial view of their duty, and that their in-
quiries into the conditions of Volunteer efficiency
have not, therefore, been sufficiently searching and
complete to ensure a full view of the subject, or
suggest any comprehensive scheme of reform. The
conclusions arrived at—if the summary of the
Report which has appeared during the week may
be trusted—are certainly meagre and insufficient.
The Commissioners appear to have construed the
term " efficiency" in • material rather than •
moral sense, and they have accordingly reported
in favour of a money grant by Government to the
Commanding Officers at the rate of so mach •
head for every man belonging to their corps.
We do not at present discuss the wisdom or
propriety of this recommendation. At beat it
is, however, only one branch of a wide inquiry—
only relates to one of the conditions of permanent
efficiency, and that one by no means the most im-
portant. The efficiency of the force depends
much more on the character and conduct of the
officers than on the possession of extra funds to
meet the incidental expenses of the men. But
this important question does not appear to have
been considered by the Commissioners. In dis-
arming the conditions of efficiency they seem to have
limited their inquiries to the privates, and the
able letter of a volunteer throws some light on the
process by which this result was arrived at.
The writer justly says that the value of the Com-
missioners' recommendations must depend very
much on the evidence by which they are sup-
ported, and he complains that at least one formal
offer of detailed evidence on • point of vital im-
portance was rejected. Having had eoesiderable
experience as • member of •leading Rifle corps,Pand
having been impressed with one cause of its
diminished efficiency, be wrote to CoL
whale the Commission was sitting, calling special
attention to this point, and offering, if necessary, to
attend in person and answer say questions the
Commissioners might think proper to ask. But,
strange to say, no notice whatever was taken
either of the letter or the offer. Obviously,'

however, the writer had a fair claim to pe7
spectful consideration. He says, addressing
Colonel M'Mortoo in his double eapority as lir
Spector-General of Volunteers Mid s reemb‘i of
the Commission :—" The Cemindmina having bear
" obtained chiefly at the instance of officers, it
" appears to me to be the more desirable that the
" opinion of the privates should obtain a hearing.
" As a member of the Rifles, as acquainted
" personally with the administration of some of
" the leading corps both in England and Scotland,
" and as a magistrate of a county in which Arta-
" lery and Cavalry Volunteers have been raised,
" I have had opportunities for obtaining a pretty
" wide acquaintance with the sentiments
"in the ranks which affect the effi-
" ciency of different 'corps." He points
out, as the result of his own experience,
that the falling off in the strength and efficiency
of the Volunteer regiments is certainly not in every
case due to the want of means : "Several of the
" regiments with which I have acquaintance are
" self-supporting, and the privates are in general
" gentlemen of some means. Yet as in their case
"the attendance has fallen off quite as much as in
" the less independent corps, the fact seems to be
" established that it is not pecuniary support from
" Government which is most urgently wanted for
" their maintenance in permanent efficiency."
This falling off in attendance, while no doubt
partly due to general causes—such as the sense of
security that prevails, and the confidence felt by
many Volunteers intheir own proficiency—is, how-
ever, in many corps mainly produced by "the igno-
" ranee, incompetence, and neglect of their officers."
" Let me cite," says the same writer, in his
letter to Colonel liPMnano, " an instance drawn
" from my personal experience. In the company
" to which I belong no officer has been present on
" parade (except that the captain came once
" mounted to act as field officer) since Easter
" Monday (April 21). Out of 28 parades held
" since January 1 no officer of the company has
attended more than seven. As the lieutenant-
" colonel was seldom present, and as the major
" was on an average present at only half the pa-
" rades, I drew last month the attention of the
" lieutenant-colonel to this state of things. In his
" reply he stated that he regretted, but could not help
" it, having no power to compel the attendance of
" officers ; but adding that he thought their
" absence due to the scanty attendance of the
" privates. This may or may not be the case, but
" the absence of officers has at least an obvious
" tendency to increase the evil, for the privates
" who would be disposed to a diligent performance
" of their duty, finding no such inclination on the
" part of their officers, and that week after week,
" because of the absence of the latter, their corn-
" pany is broken up and divided among the others,
" lose all interest in it, and cease to appear at all."
This can hardly be a solitary case, and if the in-
stances of such neglect on the part of the officers
are numerous, this is certainly a cause of ineffi-
ciency well worth inquiring into. And if
no remedy for such a serious evil exists, the Com-
missioners could hardly have rendered a better
service to the force or the country than that of
inquiring into the facts, and endeavouring to
devise some appropriate corrective. The Lieute-
nant-Colonel to whom our correspondent com-
plained pleads his inability to compel the
attendance of officers at parades. His
statement, though, no doubt, literally true,
may nevertheless be substantially open to some
question. However wanting in legal power or
positive authority the chief officer of a Volun-
teer regiment may be, he generally has a moral
and professional influence, which would be very
effective if he chose to exercise it. If it does not
already exist, some provision ought to be made for
the regular exercise of this power. For if no
means can be devised for securing the attendance
of competent officers, it is almost useless to tall.
of maintaining the vigour and efficiency of the
force.