The Express.
London, England, 1849-07-24 00:00:00

Ordnance provide* greatcoat* for the whole army,
and all the clothiag required for the colonial corps
and enrolled renstonere. As great-costs are only
supplied to the poldiers once in three seam it was
probably not worth the senile of the regimental
tailors to retain the job; and camels of colonial
corps may net enjoy the support of aristocratic wa-
lla:DM. Be that as it may, here is a part of the
army clothing supplied 011 the ordinery principles
of contract, without any per tentage on the job
being allowed to gentlemen too floe to under-
stand or trouble themselves much with the trans-
mittals ; and yet it is not alleged that the great coats
at the soldiers are of inferior crality to their panta-
loons, Of that the colonial arc worse clothed than other
corps. In justice to the high-clam army tailors it
must, however, be remarked, that in the ordnance
estimates each great-cost is charged lls. 6d., while it
appears that it is had at fps. 41c1., according to the last
contract prices.
The couple of paragraphs dower( d in the report to
the medical department of the Ordnance are myste-
rious enough. It appears that the rerrt of 1828 re-
commended "that unless decisive objections can be
urged againat stich consolidaion, the medical de-
ent of the Ordnance ehould be united to that
al the army." One caving resulting from
such an arrangemeet would have arisen
from the abolition of the office of Medical
Director-Oeneral to the Ordnance. Our authorities
are genrrally prompt enough to lop
"off supernume-
rary clerks ' and such small deer;" but directors-
clare higher game, and must be more gingerly
The rtcommendeion of the mommittee of
1828 lam been disregarded. The remit alleged is
that the change ""
would be attend. d with great d
would diminish the comfort of the
in-
soldiers". The a inconvenience" of course relates to
the dispensers of patronage and their hangers on ;
for who else could be inconvenienced by the suppres-
sion of a superfluous place ? The alleged dimi-
nution of the soldier's comfort is a more grave
consideratiou. If it means anything, it means
that lees care is taken to ensure a supply of
efficient surgeons to the general army than for the
oedema, tarps.. It cancot ba maintained that dif
ferent qualifications are required in a surgeon of the
ordnance corps and in the surgeon of a regiment of
the line. Toe business of a surgeon is to cure not
to inflict wounds, and the artilleryman is as liable to
gun-shot wounds as the soldier of the line, the sol-
dier of the line to cannon-ball contusions an the
artilleryman. if the ordnance medical department
runs a chance of being deteriorated by being united
with that of the general army, the risk can easily be
avoided by uniting the mamma department of the
general army to that of the ordnance.lieinent com-
mittee on the ordnance appear to concur in this view,
for they insist urn having one medical department
for both arms of the service. They repeat the recom-
mendation of the committee of 1828, and " suggest
the expedieocy of reconsidering this department, with
a view to render it more efficient, whenever the situa-
tion of Director-general shall be vacant." Time will
show with what Nieces&
Here we close our s?cond discourse on the report
from the select committee on army and ordnance ex-
penditure.