The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-30 00:00:00

THE CAMP AT ALDERSHOTT.

In reply to a question put in the House of Commons,
it has been stated that the first object at the Camp of
Aldershott would be to teach the troops to act together
in large bodies, but that, concurrently with this special
training, instruction would be given to them of such a
kind as to promote their general efficiency in all other
respects. We have more than once alluded to the im-
portance of the experiment which is now about to be
tried, and we recur to the subject because we are con-
vinced that the general system of training pursued at
Aldershott may exert an incalculable influence on the
character of the British army. There can be no doubt
that what has been specified above as the primary
object of this military instruction is one of great
consequence. It must needs tend to the confi•
dence and ability of troops in the field to observe
how regiments are formed into brigades and bri-
gades into divisions, how cavalry can be supported
by infantry, and both by artillery, and how the
action of large masses of men can be so concerted as to
produce the greatest effect. Nevertheless, although ma-
noeuvres illustrating such principles of military science
may be highly serviceable, we do not conceive it is on
this point that our soldiers are most in need of instruction.
As a matter of fact, it has not been found that our troops
were difficult to handle, or that they evinced any par-
ticular incompetency or awkwardness when massed to-
gether in unusual numbers. Their behaviour at the
Alma could hardly have been more admirable if they
had been drilled in bodies of 20,000 together for months
previously. It is quite true, as has been often said that
what is wanted is that a given number of regiments
should be convertible into an effective army, but this
requirement points, we think, to soreethiug above and
beyond any extension of the exercise of the individual
soldier.

The principal defects in our military onganisa-
tion were discovered, not in any inaptitude of the
troops for extended manoeuvres, but in the inexperience
of officers, and, above all, in the insufficiency of those
particular departments of an army through the agency
of which the fighting men are maintained in a fit condi-
tion for service. We wanted a good Staff, a good Trans-
port Corps, and better arrangements in the Commissa-
riat and Medical Departments. We had few officers
who had been accustomed to the management of brigades
or divisions ; our regiments, except at one or two
stations, had usually been isolated from others, and the
oafs made on the Commissariat in the colonies, where the
chief experience of these officers was acquired, were not of
a kind to convey much instruction in the duties arising out
European etampaign.—/Wghert; there was nohe of that
machinery which makes an army effective and keeps ft so.
We bad excellent soldiers and admirable regiments ; but
as our arrangements had been mostly confined to the regi-
mental scale, it was found, when some 25,000 In e■ came
to be massed together and landed on an enemy's terri-
tory, that we had no system properly organised for keep-
ing these men well fed, well clothed, well lodged, and
well tended in case of sickness or hurt. It was here we
were so much in arrear of our brave Allies. The French
had not only soldiers, but all those accessories by which
soldiers become an army—such as good waggon trains,
good medical appliances, and good Staff officers, to
make the whole work together. It is precisely in these
respects, as it seems to us, that we should endeavour to
turn the camp at Aldershott to good account.
At Aldershott we ought to have an army—that is to
say, not merely an assembly of regiments, hut a collec-
tion of troops of all arms, and in numbers sufficient to
compose a considerable force. An opportunity would then
be given of introducing and exercising all those other
branches of the service on which the efficiency of the fight-
ing portion of the army so much depends. Commissariat
officers may observe what it is to provide necessaries
for several thousand men ; medical officers and purveyors
may gain similar knowledge in their own departments;
while regimental officers in like manner may acquire the
experience of brigadiers. All the special duties created
by the presence of an army in the field may thus be dis-
cerned and learnt with no inconsiderable degree
.of pre-
cision, and practice of a character never before obtainable
will be within the reach of officers and men.
As regards, however, the soldiers themselves, we are
convinced that the species of instruction most serviceable
to them will be that which is addressed to improving
their facilities of resource and increasing their individual
self-reliance. We do not think it can b 3 fairly said that
our troops in the Crimea owed much of their suffering
to deficiencies in this respect, for, under the circum-
stances in which they were placed, it would have been
impossible for any men, however dexterous or ingenious,
to supply themselves with necessaries, or effect much
towards the amelioration of their condition. Neverthe-
less, it seems to be established by a pretty general con-
currence of opinions that the training of the British
soldier is confined too exclusively to the immediate objects
of his drill, and that he is habituated by the operation of
our military system to look to others in matters where
he might often look to himself. He is taught to march,
to move according to rule, and to use his arms ; he ac-
quires a firm carriage, great precision of movement, and
invincible steadiness ; but with these acquisitions his dis-
cipline ends. He is not taught to '•do for himself" in
any way ; on the contrary, he is accustomed to find
everything done for him. He cannot build himself a
hut, or extemporise a fireplace, or mend his own clothes
cleverly. He cannot make the most of his relations, or
turn a short issue of provisions to the best account. He
has no knowledge of carpentry, cookery, or any of those
common arts by which a little is made to go a good way.
None of these things are taught in his drill, and the con-
sequence is, that though the intelligence and resources
of Englishmen in other situations of life are notorious,
our soldiers are in these matters behind those of other
countries. The rank and file of our regiment found
everything done for them under the regimental system,
and when this system broke down, upon being applied
to the wants of an army, there was no inherent resource
in the individual soldier by which the failure could be
partially compensated.
We trust, therefore, that in addition to that practice
in field manoeuvres which will, of course, be obtained at
Aldershott, some steps may be taken to turn to account
the capabilities of the men themselves. They must ne-
cessarily have a consideralle amount of leisure, and this
leisure could hardly be better employed than in the acqui-
sition of knowledge which would be useful to them, not
only as soldiers, but as citizens too. Our Militiamen,
in particular, whose terms of service are so limited,'
might gain instruction which might be of infinite value
to them when they returned to their families. How
willing they are to learn may have been seen already
from the promptitude and earnestness with which
they have attended all kinds of classes established
for their improvement ; nor is it likely that any
occupations tending to break the monotony of a camp
life would be considered as otherwise than agreeable.
These are the points on which we think that our system
of military training would admit of beneficial extension.
Of course, the first object of such discipline is to make
good soldiers, but there is no reason why in making good
soldiers we should not do something more, especially
when the soldier.himself would bo all the better for the
process,—Tistes.

HEMP, FLAX, AND TALLOW FROM RUSSIA AND PRIM-
SIA.—A return to the House of Lords has been printed,
showing the quantity of hemp, flax, and tallow received
into this country from Russia and Prussia, between the
let January and the 27th April, in the years 1853, 1854,
and 1855. The quantity of hemp undressed. in the first
four months of 1853, from Russia, was 12,329 cwt., and
from Prussia 227 cwt. In the first four months of 1854
there were 1,814 from Russia, and 323 from Prussia ;
and in the first four months of the present year 846, of
which 804 cwt. were prize, and from Prussia 42,745. Of
flax, from Russia, the quantities in the same years l‘e e
respectively 40,301 and 11,710 cwt. in the present yesr.
The quantity of tallow received was 32,404 cwt. from
Russia in 1853 ; in 1854, 27,672 ; and 13,144 in 1855 ;
and from Prussia, in 1854,fthe quantity was 3,694 ; and
this year (the first four months, as in the several bp
Amos), 144,035.