The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-11 00:00:00

General, and Surveyors• General, between Store-
keeper, Paymaster, and Judge, it appears to be
somewhat doubtful how an order would be executed
or a duty fulfilled. Certainly, if this is his standard
of what is right and necessary, it is not surprising
that our critic should regard our present list of
officials as miserably incomplete. "To this mili-
tary triumvirate," he says," have been confided the
patronage, good government, and discipline of the
British Army—its commissariat, equipment, and
armament, as also that of the Navy; the manufaa
ture and storing of munitions of war; the construc-
tion and care of forts and fortifications, barracks,
and hospitals, both at home and abroad—services
now, in peace, involving an outlay of fifteen millions
sterling—and, lastly, the direction and manage-
ment of war in the event of its occurrence. Besides
these things, the Minister has double duty to per-
form at the House of Commons, where he must
attend regularly, answer all military questions, and
pass his Estimates. For a Minister so circum-
stanced to fill his office satisfactorily to himself, or
advantageously to the public, is, I believe, an im-
possibility." That our present system is far re-
moved from perfection, and has never been tried as
was the old one by the sudden strain of a European
war, all must admit. At the same time
our author is inclined too readily to the
creation of new and costly offices, whose
bestowal would doubtless be very useful to the
Minister, but which would be likely to add more
than enough to the list of costly sinecures which
encumber our finances. According to his scheme,
military authority would, it seems, be substituted
for civil, which, though in some cases an advantage,
would not be a change in accordance with the
temper of the people. "W. 0." makes, however,
one very sensible suggestion, which we should be
glad to see put into practice with regard to both
services. He says—" Until an office is created to
control military expenditure, the head of which is
always in the House of Commons, as was formerly
the case, there will never be any effective super-
vision of the army estimates." Such an officer
would be as useful and is as necessary for the navy
as for the army, and he should in each case belong
to the service whose Expenditure he regulates, and
not be removable with a change of Government.
We have often expressed our conviction that the
head of the Admiralty should be an office indepen-
dent of party influences. The command of the
army is unaffected by the occupants of the Treasury
bench. Why, then, should the navy be more sen-
sitive to the changes of the political weatherglass ?
There will, of course, be many a long fight before a
reform is carried which deprives Governments of so
important a piece of patronage, even as the lawyers
would steadily oppose the suggestion of an irre-
movable chancellor; but when right and reason have
their way, we shall see both changes brought about,
and the highest offices in our legal and naval admi-
nistration held by those who are swayed by no
influences of party or prejudice, because they are
individually responsible to the country for the
efficient discharge of their duties, and the efficiency
of the services which they represent.