The Express.
London, England, 1862-05-02 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, MAY 2.

AFTER the Crimean War one of the Commis-
T tie metropolis had yesterday a May-day that loners of Inquiry said, " What Miss Nioirrue-
all the world might well be glad to share ; one, " GALE has done is this : the world consider tho
moreover, which, through its representatives, all " army to consist of gentlemen and brutes; and
the world may be said to have actually enjoyed. " the soldiers were always treated accordingly.
None who were present at the Opening of the " She has taught the officials and the officers to
Exhibition will ever forget the festive day or the " treat them with respect as Christian men." The
splendid scene the multitudinous escort of way in which the soldiers expressed their view of
peaceful citizens that thronged the various it may be seen in a letter from a patient in hospi-
thoroughfares leading to the building, the gay and tal. " Before she came this was a horrid place—
brilliant assembly gathered beneath these crystal " such cumin' and swearin' Now, it's as holy as
domes arid towers, or the picturesque and pro- " a church." Since that time the aim of the
foandly impressive details of the ceremonial itself. friends of the soldier, and of such patriots as have
Nothing that nature could offer or human con- attended to our military system, has been to make
trivance supply was wanting to secure the success the soldier's life healthy and respectable, and his
of this great international festival of art and science, play-hours as innocent as the play-ground of his
of commerce, industry, and peace. And it was in youth. What has been done towards this object
all respects a grand, a complete, and in its con- must never be forgotten ; and what remains to
pleteness, we might almost say, an unlooked-for be done must be insisted on with all the resolute I
triumph. The morning was as fresh and lovely perseverance which belongs to the national cha-'
as CHAUCER could have desired, as bright and clear meter. Such perseverance and determination are
as that of the May-days described by the poets of in the highest degree necessary in face of the op-
the Elizabethan era. Au early shower had laid position of those in high places whose sympathies
the sultry dust, deepened the blue of the sky and interests are entirely on the side of ,the
overhead, brightened the tender green of the gentlemen of the army, when the convenience of
Spring foliage, and given freshness and elasticity those gentlemen comes into collision, real or ap-
to the genial air. The streets leading to the parent, with the interests of the brutes. Such re-
Exhibition were arched with flags of welcome, forms as have been obtained for the soldiery have
wedged with holiday crowds, and filled to the roof been extorted by the War-office under Lord
on every side with happy faces ; while the Building HERBERT, or under the influence of his spirit,
itself was a massive blend set in an ever-shifting from the Horse-Guards, whose predilections are
sea of murmuring life. Within the Building the altogether in favour of the " gentleman" element;
Boone was unexpectedly brilliant and imposing, the and now that Lord HERBERT is gone, the only
large crowds, the distinguished visitors, and the hope of the completion of his work is in the sup-
varied preparations tending naturally to raise ex- port which the nation will give to it through their
pectation to a very high pitch. The orchestra, representatives in Parliament. Those represents-
with its amazing semi-circular sweep of human tives themselves must be stimulated, perhaps en-
faces, brightened towards the centre with soft tones lightened, by their constituents, or, even yet, the
of colour, and alive with the gentle flutter of thing will not be done. The presence of a mili-
innumerable fans, was in itself a striking picture. tary secretary in the War-office--a mister-
Every point of sight within the Building—nave, tune which Lord Brasilia had cause to
gallery, aisle, and transept—was equally crowded, rue—was moat damaging to his plans of
and when the vast assemblage reverentially arose reform, as giving large control over the War-
as the first notes of the National Anthem pealed office to the Horse-Guards. It was kept in check
from the myriad-voiced orchestra with a volume to a certain extent while he was able to work
of sweet and solemn music that filled the build- and assume responsibility; but, since his death,
ing, yet with the affecting clearness and precision it has become more oppressive than ever before.
of a single voice, one overpowering emotion In order to see how the watchfulness of Paella-
touched every heart in that responsive throng. ment and the nation should be applied, it is
The simple words of national prayer and benedio- necessary to bear in mind what has been done
tion carried the thoughts of all to that bereaved in the way of military administration up to the
LADY whose presence was to have been the time when we find the condition of the soldier to
crowning grace and lustre of the scene, and to the be what Captain JACKSON'S Report and much
revered Fames whose large intelligence, patient other evidence has lately disclosed.
thought, and steadfast will were reflected in the Up to the Crimean war, we had nothing which
triumphs of the day. These thoughts and feelings could be properly called Military Administration
were of course revived and deepened by the refer- at all. When any catastrophe was averted, it was
enoes to the Panics in the noble ode of the by sheer valour on the part of the soldiery ; and
LAUREATE, nobly interpreted hy Professor BENNErr's when successes were obtained, it was in spite of
tender, solemn, and inspiring music, and exquisitely the administration of the army. The history of
sung by the choir. Indeed, the ceremonial as a the Peninsular war is as complete an illustration
whole was admirably carried out, and the pre. of this as could be desired ; and forty years of
veiling feeling at every point was bow coin- peace struck deeper the roots of the mischief. We
pletely it realized what the PRINCE would have entered upon the Russian war without having any
wished it to be. The combined zeal and energy military system at all ; and we struggled out of the
that, under so many discouraging circumstances, consequences by means of an expenditure lavish
has achieved such a signal success, is in itself a beyond excuse and example. Circumstances, and
striking tribute to the memory of the PRINCE. the energy of Lord Psemoaz, destroyed what
Every officer connected with the work had evi.. remained of our vicious old methods. By pro-
dently laboured to carry out the design according digious efforts, costly to excess, our second army
to the P antes's plan, and to have the whole exe- in the Crimea was preserved from the fate of the
crated as he would have desired had he been pre- first ; but we were set back to the starting point,
sent to encourage and reward their efforts. The and had to construct a system of military admi-
day was, as we have said, in all respects a complete nistratioa
success, and the subdued tone of feeling arising The handle by which the task was laid hold of
from the sense of national loss, and the thought of was the Medical Administration. The Report of
the Royal Mourner in her distant solitude, added the Sanitary Commission marked the first step
depth and reality, something indeed of a sacred towards the new construction. SIDNEY HERBERT
tenderness and power, to the ceremonial of the was the life and tul of that commission, and of
day. the four which grew out of it. Of those four, one
The late Panics's wishes and hopes have thus contemplated the reform of barracks and hospi-
been realised, so far as the opening of the Exhibi- tab ; another, the reorganization of the medical
tion is concerned. We believe they would not department and the sanitary and hospital service
have been disappointed in its appearance and con- of the army ; another, the institution of a sensible
tents. In every department—in raw materials, in method of medical statistics, on which the future
manufactures, in the triumphs of engineering life and health of our soldiery mast largely de-
skill, and especially in the application of taste Pend and the fourth related to the School of
and genius to the arts that embellish life, the Hygiene, and the specialities of military medicine
present Exhibition is far richer than the last. at Chatham. Though these subjects seemed to
The testimony of all entitled to speak, who belong to the medical department, they in fact
have examined its contents, is already decisive on invo!ved the ',ova management of the life of the
this point. While the Exhibition will thus show soldier, relating to the barrack and camp as much
how much has been learnt from the first great in- as the hospital, to food as much as physic, and to
ternational lesson, it will also supply instructive employment and recreation in health as much as
hints for further progress. Nor is there any ma- treatment in sickness. The preservation of the
son to fear that the Exhibition will at all fail in health of the soldiery, through its comfort and
producing those higher moral results which the respectability, was the object.
Parsee so confidently anticipated. Such oppor. The immediate effect was the reduction of the
amities of friendly intercourse between the various mortality of the army by one-half. Further re-
nations of the earth must help directly to make ductions must follow, for the medical statistics of
them better acquainted with each other, and thus our army, and the medical "Regulations" issued
to establish a good understanding between them. in 1859, are by far the best in Europe. The
These international festivals of art and industry China war tested these regulations, and the re-
tina contribute not only to the material advance.iturns showed that, instead of the sixty per cent.
ment of the race ; they directly help the higher , lost by disease in the first year of the Crimean
interests of international union, moral progress, war, only six per cent. died in China, from disease
and universal peace. That wars have happened 1 and inaction. Yet, much as had been done be-
during the interval which has elapsed since the fore the close of 1859, we were aghast as often as
First Exhibition is no proof whatever that its in- I occasion brought before us the state of our soldiery.
fluence was not directly and powerfully in favour ,We have not forgotten the public meetings held in
of peace. Before deciding on such a point welLondon about that time, and the facts told there
must remember the object and result of those wars, by qualified informants of the desertions, the
War, indeed, has no principle of growth or pro- i licentiousness, the nature and extent of the dis-
grass within itself. It is purely destructive, but eases of the troops, and their discontent with
then it may be employed to destroy the inveterate barrack life. In the course of 1858 the defter-
obstacles of growth and progress, and thus be tions had been 20,360 ; and estimates were
instrumental in conquering the conditions of offered of the cost of desertion on the one hand,
real and lasting peace. There are forms of 1 and invaliding on the other, which seemed scarcely
public evil so inimical to the life and progress credible, but were too true. The direct
of a nation, that their mere existence is at most recommendations of those meetings related to
bat arrested war. If they cannot be got rid of the employment and amusement of the
any other way they mast be expelled by vio- soldiers ; and the woorgai,„ E,ween the