The Express.
London, England, 1857-09-12 00:00:00

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LONDON. SATURDAY, SEPT. If.

MARTELLOCII is the power of drill. It bas trans-
formed many a sensitive and shrinking youth into an
. .

isdemitablebeltlier of the lime. Mori:singolar

It has made many a aroaibleman talk arta at act
. .

sense. The ism; system ender which the British
soldier lives, moves, and has his being, seems not
only to disable his judgment, but infects even civilians
who are brought int pivoted with it. After all, it is not
SO surprising that such men as Sir JAMES SIMPSON
and Sir GEORGE BROWN should be unconaciomly
guilty of inconsintencies in their evidence before
the Commission, but it passes belief that
so able a civilian se Lard Gary should
insist upon the Purchase System as the
secret of our military success. This fact, how-
ever, startling as it is, has its value. It seems to add
weight to the evidence of those dams who con-
demn the system. They have been brought up
ander it. They have been subjected to all those in-
fluences which have so completely overwhelmed the
logical faculties of such men as Lord Gary, Mr.
Ewcr, and Lord PAN mem Sir Cotes Cestrortt,
Colonel Fluxes, the Hon. A r• tines Se exerts, Lord
WEST, and Sir Dexcrix ftliorriau., would never
have declared themselves so strongly against the
Purchase System unless experience had convinced
them that it was thoroughly bed both is theory and
practice. Of count, men are disposed to support
the body to which they belong. To do so is almost
a point of bowler. It is only men of superior intel-
lect who in matters connected with their own pro-
fession venture to consider a question on its abstract
merits, or are capable of taking •dispassionate view.
Especially is this the ease with soldiers. They can-
not emancipate themselves from their regular routine
of thought. Alas! how many of oar Indian officers
have fallen victims to this defect of chamfer. They
could not believe in the faithlemness of the &poi.
More than half of the evidence contained in this
Blue Book proves the same thing. The officer of
Marines, who knows not the Purchase System,
looks askance at it. At the same time, how-
ever, be protests against any interference with
the system of strict seniority and against the
principle of opening the cadetships to free
anapetition. The Artillery and Engineer officers
declare that if the system of purchase were intro-
duced, these officers who were purchased over would
go away "horrified and disgusted"; whilst, at the
saint time, they do nut conceal their dislike, on the
one hand, to that excellent system, lately intiodused
by Lord PA:rural:, of opening the commisaions in
their corps to competition ; or, on the other hand,
to meddling in the smallest degree with the
principle of strict seniority, though some of our
best officers rose to distinction by a somewhat
Ingenious invasion of that very principle. The
late Sir A. Dicesox, for instance, at the time of
the Peninsular war, was only a captain in the Bri-
tish Artillery; but having the Portuguese rank of
lieutemant-eolooel, and there being always a certain
number of Portuguese troops employed with our
owe, the Duke of Victuxorox was able to give
this distinguished officer the command of the whole
artillery of the combined army. Thus Sir A
Thema had actually under his orders, while only
• captain in the British service, an English and
Portuguese farce amounting to about 8,000 men
and 6,000 horses and mules, which was equal to the
ordinary command of • lieutenant-general in that
army. Though the officers nerved under Captain
Dlcesor, his promotion was a grievous offence,
and to this day most artillery eificersadliere strongly
to the pure seniority system.

Lct us take the evidence or Sir JAMF-4 SIMPI.4ON.
Being an halter in the line he is, of course, a purchase
man. Ile is asked whetner he does not think that
ander such a system °Meets may rise to the command
of a regiment who are not so well qualified as others
for that high position. o which he replies "It
is possible; but 1 do not know that I recollect an
instance of that." Again, he is asked, "In your
w experience, have you nevi r seen any evils arising
from the system of purchaser to which he
answer.," Nu." "Not at !" proceeds the startled
examiner. No, I am not aware of it. I cannot
think of anything of the sort." This is obviously the
ev deuce of a men who is strongly in favour of pu--
thaw," a. SilJAMlLldtacribeshimftlf. Bat let oscura°

to particulars. Ito was colonel of the 29th Regiment.
The officers. he says, were "capital officers;" but they
were not rich. "There were deserving men," he adds.
ev and I was sorry to see them not get promotion,
"bet lacy Ira not yto yet it." How strange
it is that the Got of does not see the effect of his
own evidence. barely, this is the precise objection
whica the pu:dic have to purchase. To use the ex-
pression of Colonel WEstr.r, an officer of Marines,
who declares that the system of purchase would
never do in that corps--" it retards the promotion of
'• deserving officers." Again, General Stu r,ov is
asked whether in the coupe of his service he had
ever met with any field officer in command of a regi-
ment who use very much below par in point of age,
and who may have attained the rank by purchase. To
which the *items replied, " I have known several
officers who were unequal to the command of
0 the regiments they held. I cannot say whether
" they purchased or not." Q." Generally speaking,
0 you do not find that field officers in commando( regi.
meow are boys?" Ans. " No, some are 3 ming men
" bat some that I have had to deal with are pretty
" old and useless, but whether they purchased or
" not I cannot say. I have had to report upon cases
"of that kind several times." The gallant General
then adduced two instances in which he himself had
reported two officers as unfit. Hut it seems that so
little attention was paid to his remonstrances that
the one died in the service, and the other is serving
now. It does net, indeed, appear whether these officers,