The Express.
London, England, 1857-12-21 00:00:00

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MOH WILT= AT LONDON BRIDOIL
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wraps, MONDAY, DECEMBER 2L

At Wirth the Wm& Ow $ competent Staff
is mint. The regulations jest issued by the
Duke of CAMBRIDGE carry into full effect
the principles for which we have so keg eon-
_ . _ .

tended. and which mire affirmed in the autumn by
a resolution of the Rowe of Commons. Among

the many Reforms won by the Pres, few have
been fraught with more important benefita to the

State than this which concerns Staff appointments.
No doubt the disasters in the Crimea originated in
many quorten the desire for some such change. But
the Report of Milers. Lica and Your-sn showed
the reasonableness of that desire, and pointed oat

the mode in which it wee to be satisfied. Gross
jobbing had been proved ; gross jobbing must
be extinguished. The British Army was an
capable as any foreign army to famish an
able Staff. The difficulty remained to establish
some system by which these able officers, however
poor, or however humbly connected, should find
themselves NI the Staff. Instead of AIIETS and
CkOIDONS the public wanted CHAMBERLAIN&
HULLO, and HAVELOCK& The problem was Dot
difficult. It wee solved by Mr. LAKE and Colonel
Yonnisre, and that 'solution was adopted by Sir
Dc LACY Erases and affirmed by the House of Com-
ma% It was simply this : Let no officer be allowell
a place es the Staff until he has proved himself to be
worthy of it by the concurrent testimony of his
Commanding Officer and an independent Bout
of Examiners. In rhort, let all officers serving with
the army compete against each other for the Stal4
and thenceforth incompetese7 and corrupt influence
will beams impossible. The regulation just pals.
jibed are intended to carry this simple principle int*
effect, and we do hie Royal Highness the Con•
11ASDEE.IN-CEIRF no more than justice when we
say that nothing can exceed the loyalty of spirit
which he his exhibited in dealing with the subject.
The Duke has decreed that the Senior Depart.
vent at Sandhurst is to be eonvirted into a Staff
II
College. This College is to be open to all arms of
the ',mice. There are to be at first 30 etaden%
23 from the Cavalry and Infantry and 3 from the
Artillery and Engineers. These 30 officers will thus',
be the Rite of the whole British Army. They will
be those officer, of three years' standing who can
prove their right to admission into the Staff College
by a competitive examination. It matters not
whether an officer is at home or abroad. If he can
procure the sanction of his commanding officer—and
that sanction cannot be refused except on grounds
distinctly stated—he may enter into competition.
Th. previous approval of the Commanding Officer
is important, because in no other way would it
be pomible to exclude from the Staff those men
who are bad regimental officers or hare proved
themselves inefficient as practical men. The list of
compeutors being fixed, out of all officer, who have
served three years, these select men will be examined
either in London or by printed papers before •
special board on foreign 'totems. This regulation, we
may observe, gets rid of the only plausible objection
ever made egainst a scheme of competitive exam illib.
non, and that in • manner already found practicabh
in India. The subjects absolutely essential in thin
trial for entrance into the Staff College are mathe-
matics, military history end geography, and French.
The rest are optional. The examination will be con-
ducted by the Military Caused of Education. The
successful candidates will then enter the Staff
College. when they will remain two years. During
that time t►ey will devote themselves chiefly to
the study of =thematic., French, fortification, and
gunnery, recanaaiseance, military drawing, military

history, military geography, and military adminis-
tration. In short, they will par through a course
of str.ctly military education such r befits men
who have to undertake the rosponsible duties of
staff officers. Besides monthly reports of the pro-
gress of each officer to the Council of Military Edu-
cation, there will he half-yearly examination. And
it ia important to observe that the winter examina-
tion will be redacted by gentlemen independent of
the mitabliahment Officers are not to contribute a
farthing towards their education at the Staff Coliege,
and therefore the authorities are bound to see that
they came there for the purpose of prior study.
Arcordiegly, it is specially provided that if
any officer in the establishment shows either
idleness or inferior capacity, he may be removed
at any period of hie two years' tarter. Moreover,
in order to open the door to Staff Officers u widely
am porible, it is provided that an officer may apply
for admirion for one year instead of two ; bat to ob-
tain this privilege he most show himself equal in
attainments to those who have already passed one
year at Sandhurst. In addition to this, even at the
final examination at the clamor the scrod year, any
officer in the army ie to be allowed to submit himself
to the Examiners, and if he can prove himself
superior to those who have ?used through the
College, he is to be entitled to his place
on the Staff, just se if ha had resided
there. The final examinations —the first of which
will take place in December, 18;e3--will be
held once a year, and the Council of Military Edu-
cation will submit to the Commander-in-Chief the
list of successful candidates in all the classes, with a
Afraid report of those who have moat distinguished
themselves. This scheme will come into immediate
operation, for we learn that after the lit of January,
Poio, those officers, and those officers alone, who
have obtained die certificate of the Military Council
of Education will be entitled to hold Stair appoint-
incr ti. There are, indeed, two exceptior—tbe
first is the cue of officers of peeved ability in the
tieid to this there does not seem much Aim.