The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-18 00:00:00

THE GUARDS AND THE LINE.

The following is the important document to
which we have more than once drawn public atten-
tion. It is headed :
" A MEMORIAL FROM THE COLONELS AND
LIEUTENANT-COLONELS OF THE BRIGADE OF
GUARDS TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT
MAJESTY.
" To THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY'.

" MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY,
" THE UNDERSIGNED, being the Colonels and Lieute.
Rant-Colonels commanding the three Regiments of YOUR
MAJESTY'S Guards, most respectfully submit for YOUR
MAJESTY'S gracious consideration, this their humble Me-
morial, which they feel it their duty to present to YOUR
MAJESTY, in consequence of the operation of Youn MA-
JESTY'S Royal Warrant of the 6th of October, 1354, regu-
lating Promotion and Retirement in the Army, in so far as
it affects the interests of the officers of the Briiade of
Guards, who serve under their immediate Command.

"I. The Royal Warrant 6th Oc ober, 1854, establishing
a new system of promotion in the higher ranks of the

army.

" YOUR MEMORIALISTS respectfully remind YOUR MA-
JESTY that a war with Russia being imminent in the early
period of last year, the attention of the military authorities
was necessarily directed to the state of the higlier ranks of
the army ; and that YOUR MAJESTY was graciously pleased
to appoint a Royal Commission to inquire into the several
modes of promotion and retirement, and to report what
changes it might be expedient or practicable to make in the
existing system, with a ♦iew to the greater efficiency of
the service :

" That the Commission was composed of officers of high
rank in the army, and of gentlemen who had been con-
nected with the military administration of the country ;
and that the several branches of the service were each re-
presented by an officer of rank :
" That the Commissioners, having before them the pro-
eeedings and Report of the Royal Commission of IS4O
thought it unnecessary to call for fresh evidence ; that,
after an examination of numerous returns and lengthened
discussions, they completed their Report on the lith of
June, 1854 ; and that on the 6th of October ultimo YOU.
MAJESTY'S Warrant was issued, embodying their recom-
mendations, and establishing a new system of promotion
above the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
" In the statement which YOUR MEMORIALISTS are
about to offer for YounMAJESTY'S consideration, they pro-
pose to confine themselves to explaining, as concisely as
possible, the position in whish YOUR MAJESTY'S Brigade
of Guards will bo placed by the unavoidable effect and
operation of the provisions of the now Royal Warrant.
" Youn MEMORIALISTS aro aware that the Guards en-
joy some advantages in being quartered in London, and
by exemption from Colonial Service ; but these are totally
distinct from the question of Promotion, and rest upon
the merits of the position of the Brigade as the Guards of
the Sovereign.

" YOUR iiEMORIALISTS would premise that the Officers
of the Guards are not for one moment disposed to take ex-
ception to any alteration in the system of promotion in the
army which is calculated to accelerate the promotion o
their comrades of the Line, and to put it more upon an
equality with what has hitherto been their own—although
the result of any alteration which has that effect must
necessarily be to bring into the higher ranks a much larger
number of Officers of the Line and Ordnance corps of equal
service with themselves, and thereby indirectly to render
their position less advantageous than it has hitherto been.
Had this been the extent of the influence exerted by the
Royal Wsrrant upon the prospects of the Guards, the pre-
sent Memorial would never have been presented to YOUR
MAJESTY.

H. The subject of
inquiry—.Whether the Officers of the
Guards will reach the position of Command as quickly
as the Ogicers of the Line, or the reverse, under the
system, inaugurated by the Royal Warrant Gth October,
1851.

,
" YOUR MEMORIALISTS would here observe that the
point to which the hopes of all soldiers are directed is that
of COMMAND, and that the rank which is the object of
military ambition is that of GENERAL. The subject of in-
quiry is therefore this—Whether the Officers of the Guards
will have a fair, or indeed any, chance of arriving at the
position of General as quickly as the great body of the
Officers of the Line, under the new regulation.
" YOUR MEMORIALISTS- may at once state that, after a
careful examination of the subject, they conceive that
great (although, they believe, uninteational) injustice has
been done to the Brigade of Guards by the recent Warrant,
The Brigade of Guards has unquestionably enjoyed more
rapid promotion hitherto than other branches of the ser-
vice; lint henceforward, in the race of competition for the
ranks of Colonel and General, it must enter the lists upon
unequal terms; and in the observations which they submit
for YOUR MAJESTT'a consideration they will endeavour to
show that tho new Warrant COMPLETELT REVERSES THE
FUTURE rnosrzers OF THE GUARDS.

"111. The Constitution of the Brigade of Guards and of
the Line compared.

" In order that those observations may be clearly under-
stood, -null -MEMORIALISTS propose briefly to explain and
point out in what manner the rank of tho Guards differs
from that of the rest of the Army, also when the increased
rank was conferred upon the Brigade, and what hashither-
to been the influence of that increased rank upon their
promotion.
"A Regiment of the Infantry of tho Lino is officered by
one Lieutenant-Colonel, two Majors, as many Captains as
companies, and Lieutenants and Ensigns in proportion;
and a Cavalry Regiment is similarly organised, with the
sole difference that thero is only one Major.

"The Brigade of Guards is composed of three regiments
—the first, the Grenadier Guards, consisting of three bat-
talions—the Coldstream and Scots Fusilier Guards, of
two battalions each—in all seven battalions; each batta-
lion being virtually, in itself, a regiment.
" Each of the three regiments of Guards - the Grena-
diers, the Coldstream, and the Scots Fusiliers—is com-
manded by an officer who is styled (in the Guards), a Regi.
mental Lieutenant-Colonel, who is a Colonel in the army,
and is, as it were, a Brigadier commanding the three (or
two) battalions, and who arrives at that position, on
an average, in 36 years' service.
" Each Battalion of a Regiment of Guards is commanded
by an officer denominated (in the Guards) a Regimental
Major, but who is ex officio a full Colonel in the army, and
who obtains his Battalion in about 29 or 30 years' service.
" Each Company, again, in a Battalion of Guards, is
commanded by an officer who is styled Captain and Lieu-

tenant-Colonel, and has the substantive rank of Li eutenant-
Colo 4 in *lam: Th 4 to conOr QI Copkin4 cus4l

" And, lastly, of the subordinate officers, or subalterns,
the Lieutenants have the rank of Captain, and the Ensigns
that of Lieutenant.

" The rank of Lieutenant-Colonel was conferred upon
the Captains of the Guards by Royal Warrant on the 30th
of July, 1687 ; that of Captain on the Lieutenants, iu
similar manner, on the 19th of July, 1691, when in camp
at Gerpynes during the campaign in Holland ; and that of
Lieutenant on the Ensigns on the 29th of July, 1815, in
consideration of the distinguished conduct of the Brigade
at the Battle of Waterloo.
" Of these extra ranks, the one which has had the most
important influence on promotion is that of Lieutenant-
Colonel, conferred in 1687—at a •ery early period in the
history of a standing army; at a time when only one-fifth
of the army (as at present constituted) was in existence ;
and when no less than seventeen of the twenty-seven regi-
ments of which it was then composed consisted of regiments
raised in 1685 by noblemen and gentlemen for the sup-
pression of Monmouth's rebellion, and which were after-
wards taken upon the establishment.
" TOUR MEMORIALISTS conceive that it was the delibe-
rate intention of the Sovereign, as a mark of Royal State,
to confer upon the Captains commanding Companies of his
Guards, whose special duty it was to command the Guard
over the Royal Person, as also upon their subordinates, the
privilege of increased rank which they at present enjoy,
and whatever advantages might naturally and necessarily
accrue from it.
" Such, then, being the relative and comparative consti-
tution of the two Services, YOUR MAJESTY will at once
perceive that the extra rank of the Guards has hitherto
brought the Officers of that corps to the position of leld
and general officers more quickly than the average of the
Officers of the Line could arrive at those ranks. During
the late or Revolutionary war, Officers of the Line rose to
the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel with as great and often
greater celerity than those of the Guards ; but, subse-
quently to its close, an enormous half-pay and other causes
contributed greatly to retard the promotion of the Line—
an effect, however, which had been gradually wearing out,
and had nearly disappeared, at the period when the Royal
Commissioners commenced their labours, in 1854.
" IV. The Royal Warrant-614 October, 1854—its prin-

ciple— and the change effected by it.
" Having made these introductory remarks, YOUR ME-
MORIALISTS now proceed to the consideration of the Royal
Warrant of the 6th October, 1834.
The seventh clause of the Warrant riles thus
THAT THE RINK OF FUL COLONEL BE GIVEN TO OFFI-
CERS AFTER SERVING FOR THREE TEARS WITH THE RANI
OF LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, IN THE ♦CTUAL COMMAND OF
REGIMENTS, OR FOR THE SAME PERIOD AS SECOND-LIEU•
TENANT-COLONELS,' &C., 011, AS MOUNIED OFFICERS OF
THE GUARDS, OR ON THE STAFF,' IN CERTAIN SPECIFIED
SITUATIONS.

" The effect of the new system thus inaugurated may be
stated, in contrast with the system which it supersedes, as
follows : - That, whereas °facers after attaining the rank of
Lieutenant• Colonel, to wl►ich they are promoted regimen-
tally, rose, under the regulations in force previously to
the Warrant, to the rank of Colonel and General byperiodi-
cat general brevets, and no one could pass over the
head of anether except in a case of distinguished merit ;
this regulation is now rescinded, and it is ruled by YOUR
MIJE!STY'S Warrant that Lieutenant-Colonels having
served three years in command of a regiment of the Line
shall obtain the rank of Colonel, and then be eligible to be
selected as General Officer& ; and that Guardsmen, under a
different system of promolion, shall count their three years
from the date of their bcconing Acting Majors or Mounted
officers.

" YOUR MEMORIALISTS would here freely admit that
the principle thus adopted of making regimental service as
Lieutenant-Colonel the bale of future advancement is wise
and sound, and that it is calculated to accelerate promo-
tion and give satisfaction :o the army. But that part of
the clause which they take exception to is the position
therein assigned to the Officers of the Guards, as it will
prove to be unjust in its operation both to those now serviny
and to the Brigade in goteral.
" The Officers of the Guards make no quarrel with the
Warrant that it does not lay down the same rule of pro-
motion above the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel for both ser-
vices. They have for years, and with tenacity, maintained.
those privileges of their increased rank identified with the
dignity of the Crown, which have beeu handed down to
them by their predecessors, and which naturally have ren-
dered their promotion more rapid until the recent change
of system,—but, while fully aware of these advantages,
they have defended the,,n in duty to a transmitted trust,
and from an honourable esprit de corps, rather than from
any selfish or unworthy motive; and it had long been
wished by the senior officers of the brigade that arrange-
ments might be made which would have the effect of ac-
celerating the promotion of the Line, and thereby render-
ing the service to the rank of Lieutenant• Colonel more
equal to both branches of the army. It was therefore no
matter of surprise to them, or of complaint, that theßoyal
Commissioners did not recommend that Captains and Lieu-
tenant-Colonels of the Guards hereafter to be promoted
should obtain the rank of Colonel in three years. But it is
matter both of suprise and complaint that, in adjusting, or
assuming to adjust, an inequality, for which the will of
the fount of honour and promotion in past times is solely
responsible, the Royal Commissioners should have recom-
mended a principle of promotion by which, so far from
equality being attained, the Officers of YOUR MAJESTY'S
Brigade of Guards find their position depressed to a grade
of absolute INFIRIORITY to that of their comrades in the
Line.

"That the is actually tho C 230 YOUR MEMORIALISTS
will now proceed to demonstrate.
V. The questions at issue are-1. Have the Royal
ontmissioners, in recommending the starting•point for
c rank of Colonel to be fixed at the position of Licute•
nant-Colonel in the Line, and of Acting Major (or
Mounted Officer) in the Guards, acted fairly to the
Guards? 2. have existing interests been carefully
protected ?

" Your. MEMORIALISTS venture to submit to YOUR MA-
JESTY their decided opinion that these questions must be
answered in the negative ; and, in support of that opinion
they undertake to demonstrate the two following proposi-
tions ;----

" 1. That the fixing of the starting point for the rank
of Colonel at the position of Acting Major in the
Guards will be most detrimental to the interests of
the Officers of the Guards in all future times, inas-
much as the greater part of the army will hencefor-
ward necessarily arrive at that rAnk with loss service,
and as younger men, than the Officers of the Guards.
" 2. That the system of promotion recommended by the
Royal Comnait4ioners, and now adopted, with respect
to the Captains and Lieutenant-Colonels of the Guards
existing as such at the period When the Report was
issued, must press at once, and has already pressed in
individual instances, with peculiar, unjust, and cruel
severity on those Officers ; and that it amounts to a
broach of faith on the part of tie authorities, and is
directly opposed to and at variance with the principle
of respect for vested interests which the Report recog
vises and affirms, and on which it professes fundamen-
tally to proceed.

"And as the result, on the basis of this demon-
stration, YOUR MEMORIALISTS will further, and lastly, in-
vite YOUR MAJESTY'S assent to this conclusion, seeing
that the effect of the recommendation of the Royal Com-
missioners has been to inflict an injustice on the Brigade of
Guards, both as respects existing vested rights and the
future prospects of the Brigade, which it is impossible to
suppose that they could have Contemplated or foreseen—an
injustice not confined to a moment of time or a single gene-
ration of officers, but sweeping in extent and permanent in
80 as completely to subvert and change the pros-
operation,
pect of that branch of the service—the state of things thus
established is ono to bo deprecated, and such as to call im-
peratively for reconsideration and r3dress.
4, FIRST PROPOSITION :—THAT THE FIXING OF THE
STARTING FOINT FOR THE RANK OF COLONEL AT THE
POSITION OF ACTING MAJOR IN THE GUARDS WILL BE
MOST DITRIMENTA.L TO THE INTERESTS OF THR OFFI-
-1 CERS OF THE GUARDS IN ALL FUTURE TIMES, INAS-
MUCH AS THE GREATER PART OF THE ARMY WILL
rigNOEFORWARD NECESSARILY ARRIVE AT THAT RANK
wITh LESS SERVICE, AND AS YOUNGER MEN, THAN
THE OFFICERS OF THE GUARDS.
" The proof of this proposition evidently depends- upon
the results of an inquiry with the view of ascertaining the
comparative length of service in which the respective posi-
tions of Lientenant•Colonel of the Line and Acting Major
,of the Guards are attainable.
"And here, at the outset, YOUR MEMORIALISTS admit
that it seems Clear, by returns which appear in the Appen-
dix to the Report of the Royal Commissioners, that the
Commissioners—although they did not enter minutely into
the details of the question, or take any evidence 11P" the
subject—did still undoubtedly consider that the periods at
which tho respective positions of the command of a Regi-
ment of the Line and Acting Major of the Guards aro at-
tainable are so nearly upon an equality as to render the
arrangement they recommend equitable. A little further
investigation would most probably hare induced a very
different conclusion.
" i. Comparative length of service in which the positions
of Lieutenant-Colonel of the Line and Acting Major
of the Guards—that is, the respective starting-points
for the Line and the Guards —are attainable, ascer-
Itained to be considerably
longer in the Guards than
in the Line.
"In considering this question, YOUR MEMORIALISTS
roopootfully naiad Youg iiiming.thet by .the 0114%

blished rule of the service, originating in the reign of
Charles 11., purchase is the means of obtaining promotion
to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and non-purchase is the
exception, although (in consequence of improvement in the
military system) a considerable one ; and every officer who
is not prepared to give the price fixed by regulations must
permit a junior officer to purchase over him. In the
Guards, except in time of war, purchase is all but univer-
sal ; in the Line, from various circumstances, promotion
without purchase is of frequent occurrence. The effect of
the system of purchase, ac is shown to some extent by the
Returns in the Appendix, is to render promotion to the
Rank of Lieutenant-Colonel more rapid than if it was ob-
tained without Purchase.

" These observations premised, YOUR MEMORIALISTS
proceed to a comparison of the length of service in which
the respective positions of Lieutenant-Colonel of the Line
and Acting Major of the Guards are attainable.
" YOUR MAJESTY will readily perceive that it is abso-
lutely necessary to fix upon some period for the purpose of
making this comparison, and You MEMORIALISTS there-
fore select the 20th of June, 1854, the day uppon which
the Brevet came out, and which may be considered the
last of the old system, inasmuch as the war, the Brevet (an
unusual one, in its so rapidly succeeding the former one),
and the late augmentations have created an exceptional
state of things.

"It will appear evident that the comparison here in
view can only rest and depend upon minute and nominal Re-
turns, giving the dates of appointments, and the length of
every officer's service on arriving at the prescribed posi-
tion,—thus furnishing the data from which the required
inferences are to be drawn • and apart from Asshiab..ll.e-
-turns and data mere assertions (especially by an interested
party) cannot be viewed without jealousy and distrust.
" A series of such Returns—which have been prepared
with the utmost care and accuracy—which comprise, Total
Mamonisusrs believe, every item of information requi-
site to support and elucidate their assertions, and by
which those assertions may be checked and scrutinised at
every stage of their exposition, will be found in the Ap_
pendia to this Memorial ; and to these, and such others as
are elsewhere referred to in the succeeding pages, they re-
spectfully and confidently invite YOUR MAJESTY'S atten-
tion.

"The results they furnish are briefly as follows :
"On the 20th June, 1854, the period selected for the
purpose of this comparison, there were serving 154 Lieu-
tenant-Colonels of the Line and 13 Acting Majors of the
Guards.

" The average service of the 154 Lieutenant-Colonels of
the Line on obtaining their Lieutenant-Colonelcies was
twenty-two years and ten months; while the average ser-
vice of the Acting Majors—the average number of years
it had taken them to become mounted—it was twenty-four
years and eleven months.
"It therefore appears so far—at tho first blush (as it
were) of inquiry—that the Guard: are two years lonytr
in arriving at their starting-point than the Line.
" YOUR MEMORIALISTS believe that it is an universally
admitted principle that averages must not, as a matter of
course, be received as evidence of a just result, but that
they require to be tested by strict scrutiny and careful
analysis ; and, therefore, iu this case, in order to arrive at
a clear perception of its working, inquiry must be
made to ascertain the longest and shortest periods of ser-
vice, and the numbers promoted in each individual year of
service, which it has taken officers to arrive at that posi-
tion from which they are to count the three years' service.
If there was little variation in the different lengths of ser-
♦ice from which the two averages are drawn, then a fair
conclusion would be arrived at ; but it will be found that
the average period in which the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel
was attained by the 154 Lieutenant-Colonels of the Line is
taken from periods of service varying from ton years, the
shortest, to 41 years, the longest, embracing a period of
35 years ; while the average service in which the 13 Acting
Majors of the Guards obtained that position is derived from
periods of service varying from 21 years, the shortest, to
27 years, the longest, or a period of only seven years us
contrasted with the 35 years of the Line.
"The result of this is, that no less than 63 Lieutenant-
Colonels of the Line have obtained that rank in periods of
service shorter than the shortest period of the services
from which the average of the Acting Majors of the Guards
has been drawn—that is, under 21 years' service ; in other
words every ono of these 63 Lieutenant-Colonels of the
Lino, had he attained that rank after the promulgation of
the Royal Warrant of the 6th October, would have at-
tained the starting-point for the Lino, and started on his
three years' service for the rank of Colonel, before any one
of the 13 Acting Majors could have reached the starting -
point for the Guards. It is therefore evident that, accord-
iog to the operation of the system as thus shown forth,
two•fcfths of the army would become Colonels in periods of
service shorter than would be possible for Guardsmen even
in the most favourable circumstances; while, taking 24
years as about the average time from which the Guards
will commence their three years' service, two-thirds of the
army will pass over their heads.

" YOUR MEMORIALISTS also invite YOUR MAJESTY'S
attention to this further consideration, already noticed,
that, by the established rule of the service, purchase is the
mode by which promotion is to be attained, and non-pur-
chase the exception ; and -that officers who are unable or
unwilling to pay the regulated price must permit junior
officers to purchase over their heads. It would be mani-
festly unfair, where so large a proportion in one service
(only) are non-purchasers, to compare those who purchased
their rank with those who did not do so. In many in-
stances it would be comparing Officers who have been pur-
chased over with those who have obtained promotion with-
out that drawback; and therefore for a just appreciation
of the merits of this question the comparison should be
restricted to those officers who have purchased the rank of
Lieutenant-Colonel in both services—which in the Guards
is almost invariably the case except in time of war.
" Applying, therefore, this further check and rectifica-
tion to the averages above stated, it appears that of the 154
Lieutenant-Colonels of the Line serving on the 20th of
June, 1854, 61 obtained that rank without purchase and
93 by purchase.
" Discarding, then, the 61 Lieutenant-Colonels who ob-
tained their Lieutenant-Colonelcies without purchase, the
average service of those 93 who obtained the rank by pur-
chase amounted only (as by the Returns referred to) to
twenty-one years and seven months; whereas the•l3 Acting
Itfajo7l of tl‘c Guards (who had all purchased) obtained
that rank, as above shown, in an average of twenty-four
years of eleven months.
" The fact thus stands out, that, when those who have
obtained their promotion by purchase are compared toge-
ther, THE GUARDS ARE UPON THE AVERAGE THREE TEARS
AND FOUR MONTHS LONGER IN REACHING THEIR START-
ING POINT FOR THE RANK OF COLONEL THAN THE OFFICERS
OF TEE LINE.

" The result of this state of things will therefore be, that
while on the one hand it will be almost impossible, except
in a period of War, for Guardsmen to obtain the rank of
Colonel, at the .soonest under twenty-four years, the Officers
of the Line will, on the other, have frequent and constant
opportunities of doing so in from twenty to twenty-four
years.

" YOUR MEMORIALISTS trust they have clearly shown
the comparative length of service between the Guards and
the Line to the respective starting points of Lieutenant-
Colonel and Acting Major, as derived from a comparison
of the two services as they stood on the 20th of Juno, 1854.
" YOUR MEMORIALISTS do not wish, however, that this
question should rest upon one particular date ; and they
are therefore perfectly ready (if called upon) to enter into
the case either upon any other date, or for a period of five,
ten, or fifteen years, and to submit it to the most severe
and thorough investigation.
" ii. Effect of the disparity thus ascertained on the future
promotion of the Gnards, viz., that Guardsmen, will be
distanced in the race by nearly all Linesmen who are
purchasers.
" Having thus ascertained the comparative length of
service of the Guards and the Line up to the respective
starting-points, YOUR MEMORIALISTS propose now to in-
quire, judging from past experience and the chances of
promotion created by the Warrant, what will be the effect
of the now system upon tho professional prospects of the
Officers of the Guards.
" Hitherto the race for rank has been up to the grade of
Lieutenant-Colonel, that being the highest purchaseable
rank, after which the promotion to the ranks of Colonel and
General proceeded in regular course by periodical Brevets.
The rank of Colonel is now for the first time made (virtu-
ally) purchaseable in the Line, being consequent, Tinder
fixed regulations, upon the purchaseable rank of Lieutenant -
Colonel. This rank is now attainable by the Line in three
years—by Captains and Lieutenant-Colonels of the Guards,
who held that rank on the 20th Juno, 1854, in six years
(as recommended in the Report of the Commission, and
fixed by the General Order of the 23(1 November, 1854,
and which will be hereafter notioed)—and, as will be
shown, by those promoted subsequently to that date, in
eleven or twelve years after becoming Lieutenant-Colonels.
" To prove this it is only necessary for TOUR MEMO-
RIALISTS to show the length of time which it takes officers
of the Guards, from their first commission in the Brigade,
to obtain the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and the number
of years that it takes them to become Acting Majors after
they obtain that rank. Referring again to the returns
supplied, the average period of the former will be found
to be nearly fifteen, and the latter nine years, and, count-
ing the three years which qualify for the grade of Colonel,
it will take altogether from eleven to twelve years to obtain
that rank after becoming a Lieutenant-Colonel.
" Your MEMORIALISTS therefore respectfully submit to
YOUR MAJESTY that it will be impossible, unless in a very
exeptional state of things, for an Officer of the Guards to
attain the rank of Colonel, on which a soldier's ambition
*Mit ItoW be Axed, under twoutpiQur years, lad rarely

under twenty-seven years, whilst a great number ,f
Officers of the Lino will attain it in periods varying from
twenty to twenty-six years ; and, as the Returns will show,
GUARDSMEN WILL BE DISTANCED BY NEARLY ALL LINES-
MEN WHO ARE PURCHASERS.
" iii. Inquiry whether there is any chance of the compara-
tive positions of the Guards and the Line being approx.-
mated. . .

" YOUR MEMORIALISTS now propose briefly to consider
what the effect of the Royal Warrant may be in accele-
rating promotion in both services, and whether there is
any chance of the comparative positions being brought
nearer together.
"And, first, as to the Guards :—YOUR MEMORIALISTS
can perceive nothing that has a tendency to render the
general promotion more rapid. In the higher ranks of
Regimental Lieutenant-Colonel and Regimental Major pur-
chase has been abolished, and the system in force previ-
ously to 1804 has boen partially reverted to ; and, as the
greater the sum involved the greater must be the tendency
to realise it, officers will probably not be so ready to vacate
their commands. Appointments to the Staff cannot be so
frequent as to produce any sensible effect ; exchange will
only benefit the individual who exchanges ; and full-pay
retirement is not likely to be accepted by the class of offi-
cers who usually servo in the Guards. In short, YOUR
MEMORIALISTS do not anticipate that there will be any
permanent acceleration of promotion at all, much loss suf-
ficient to bring the service of an Acting Major to an equa-
lity with that of a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Line-
" With regard to the Line, their comparative position
is likely to be still more advantageous than hats been shown.
Stattaituations will be filles:l up. frAgn -pt.y, and this re-
tirement on full pay has been increased from 38,0001. to
60,0001. a year.
" YOUR MAJESTY was also graciously pleased to Order
on the 12th December ultimo that, in the case of Majors
who are Lieutenant-Colonels by Brevet, the time they are
in command of the regiment shall count towards the rank
of full Colonel. In the line it frequently happens that
Majors are Brevet Lieutenant-Colonels—they may there-
fore attain the rank of Colonel very soon after, or even
before, they become Regimental Lieutenant-Colonels, as
was the case with Lieutenant-Colonel Dennis, of the 94th,
who became Regimental Lieutenant-Colonel on the 29th
December, 1854, but was made Colonel on the 28th No-
vember, 1854 ; but, as it ie totally exceptional, from the
constitution of the force, that a Captain and Lieutenant-
Colonel, not an Acting Major, should command a Batta-
lion in the Guard's, the general tendency of this Regula-
tion will be to increase the comparatively disadvantageous
position of the Officers of that corps.
" There is, however, another regulation lately issued, on
the Ist of May, 1855, to which Yeun, MEMORIALISTS in-
vite'l
serviceat is t
ino n
the, which,
field, though
yet
init e
va
eprpt lhi
ee
ls
teo s sr a
contrary
tuorbilatrMayinAtoejdEtsehfirprinciple laid down, viz., that respon-
eible command shall be the base from which the two
highest ranks are to spring ; and, independently of this
departure from that principle, it must be noticed here as
having an important effect upon the comparative position
of the two services. This regulation provides that ' The
Rank of Colonel is to be given to Officers who obtain the
Rank of Brevet Lieutment-Colonel for service in the field
after six years' service with that rank, and may at once have
the option of a step of substantive rank, cf:c.' From the na-
ture of the rank in the Guards, as before explained, it is
evident that, unless in a case of extraordinary exception,
this rule cannot benefit the officers of the Guards ; r
while one step of Brevet Rank will enable au Officer of
the Liue to commence the six years' service, the Offiber of
the Guards must of necessity obtain two steps of Brevet
Rank iu order to become a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel ;
and while YOUR MEMORIALISTS feel satisfaction that their
comrades of the Line should receive every reward which
can bo conferred upon them for their distinguished con-
duct, yet they cannot bat feel most strongly that the po-
sition assigned to the Officers of the Guards by the
sions of the Warrant almost totally precludes
however distinguished, from competing with thos
benefit by this rule ; while even in the corps to
they themselves belong the rule acts in an ano
manner.

" YOUR MEMORIALISTS beg to submit to
MAJESTY the following case as an illustration :—C
Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar, of the Grenadier G
being a Brevet Major, was promoted to Brevet,Lieut
Colonel for distinguished service on the 12th Dec.,
and in six years will become a Full Colenel. Capt
land, of the same regiment, being a Brevet Major :
tinguished service in 1848, was promoted to Capts
Lieutenant-Colonel on the 28th of Sept., 1851; w
perately wounded at Inkerman, and would, iu
circum.tunces, be about ten years before thi- can bf.
Colonel. Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland was on the

the Army, and if he had not been previously prom

his own regiment, he being at the time a Brevet,'
would, like others on the Staff, have obtained

step of Brevet rank for distinguished service; and
would not, ag he is now, be placed in an inferior

to a junior Officer. It therefor.) appears that tilt
holding tho inferior or Brevet rank will become
in six years, while the Officer holding the superior
stantive rank will bo not less than ten years. I,
have been better for the interests of Lieutenant•

Maitland if ho had not been promoted in his r(

provi-
thern,
who
which
)3alous

wine a
Staff of
oted in
Major
mother
Ihen he
losition

This is therefore an additionalinstance in which th,

)1 Officer
pOlOllOl
iDr sub
t would
•Colonel

of tho Warrant will work with unnecessary harsh'

,he interests of the Guards.

:imout.

action
Lew on

"YOUR MEMORIALISTS also venture to point out to
YOUR MAJESTY what appears to them to be an inconsis-
tency in the provisions of the Royal Warrant, the effect of
which must most seriously injure the future prospects of the
Ensigns and Lieutenants of the Guards. It is ruledi that no
Officer can attain the rank of Captain until he has com-
pleted two years' service, under which regulation no less
thln ninctcen Officers from Regiments of the Lino have al-
ready been appointed to the rank of Lieutenant and Captain
in the Guards. YOUR MEMORIALISTS are most anxious that
YoUlt MAJESTY should understand that they do not corn
plain of this rule, and that they only notice it to show still
further the injurious effects of the provision which rbgulates
the promotion of Officers of the Guards to the rank of
Colonel. The augmentations and the casualties inbidental
to war have accelerated the promotion of all rank in both
services. But, although there are two or throe Regiments
of the Lino which have at present no subalterns eligible
for the rank of Captain, and no doubt there will be a few
others, yet it is evident that such a circumstance will only
occasionally occur, and even then it cannot be so frequent
as to have any ♦ery important effect. The reason of this
will be at once seen. The establishment of Ensigns and
Lieutenants in tho Guards is eight to a Battalion,: while in
a Regiment of the Line at the commencement of the war
there were twenty subalterns ; and the result was that the
casualties and promotions very rapidly worked out in the
smaller number all those who had been two years in the
service, and for a considerable time the Ensignt of the
Guards must still have Officers from other corps appointed
to the rank above them; though the effect on the Line
has not been to the same extent, yet the Officerii aro not
subject to the same restriction as the Guards after attain-
ing the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

" YOUR MEMORIALISTS therefore humbly request YOUR
MAJESTY to recollect that, while one rule regulates pro-
motion to the rank of Captain in both services, in the
higher ranks a separate rule is applied to either branch of
the service for the rank of Colonel ; that while in the one
case the relative rank is strictly insisted on and adhered to,

in the other it is indirectly set aside ; and that the impor-
tation of a large number of Officers above the janior ranks,
combined with the restriction after becoming Captains
and Lieutenant-Colonels, must naturally prejudice their
comparative advance ; and YOUR MEmomArdsrl respect-
fully submit that the practical operation of the system in
this particular is to give the Guards all the disadvantages
of the relative rank ii the junior grade, and at the same
time to withhold from them the advantages of the relative
rank in the superior grade, and that this forms ian addi-
tional reason why the provision regulating the Promotion
of the Guards to the rank of Colonel should be considered.
"In closing this branch of the inquiry TUB MEMO-
RIALISTS are fally aware that iu consequence of;the rapid
promotion caused by the Loss of Officers in action and by
the Climate of the East, thine will be some Officers who
will arrive at the position of Acting Major in a shorter
period than is estimated in this Memorial; but this will
be the result of an exceptional state of things, brought on
by special circumstances, and temporary in its operation.
YOUR MEMORIALISTS, assuming that they have made
good the preceding Proposition, to the effect that the sys-
tem now inaugurated by the Report of the Commissioners
and the Warrant 6th October, 1851, is detrimental, and
even disastrous, to the interests of the Brigade of Guards
generally, they now proceed to invite YOUR MAJESTY'S
attention to the follow* additional Proposition, viz. :
" SECOND PROPOSITION : —THAT THE SYSTEM OF PRO-
MOTION RECOMMENDED BY THE ROYAL COMMISSION-
gRop AND NOW ADOPTED, WITH RESPECT TO THE
CAPTAINS AND LIEUTENANT-COLONELS OF THE
GUARDS EXISTING AS SUCH AT THE PERIOD WHEN
THE REPORT WAS ISSUED, MUST PRESS AT ONCE,
AND HAS ALREADY PRESSED, IN INDIVIDUAL IN-
STANCES, WITH PECULIAR, UNJUST, AND CRUEL
SEVERITY ON THOSE OFFICERS ; AND THAT IT
AMOUNTS TO A BREACH OF FAITH ON THE PART 01
THE AUTHORITIES, AND IS DIRECTLY OPPOSED TO
AND AT VARIANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF RESPECT
FOR VESTED INTERESTS WHICH THE REPORT RE-
COGNISES AND AFFIRMS, AND ON WHIM! IT PRO-
FESSES FUNDAMENTALLY TO PROCEED.
" In proof of this proposition YOUR MEMORIALISTS
have simply to quote the Report of the Royal Commission,
completed on the 17th of June, 1854.
" The Commissioners in that Report distinctly acknow-
' ledge the chins of vestal interests, &lad stet. !via u,

THIS' (i.e., THE NEW) SYSTEM WERE AT ONCE etußsn.
TUTED FOR THAT WHICH HAS BEEN HITHERTO IN FORCE,
WITHOUT ADOPTING BOMB MEANS,TO P,ROTECTMIE TNTE-
RESTS OF THOSE WHOSE PROSPECTS WOULD BE AFEECTAD -klkt
BY THE CHANGE, MUCH INJUSTICE WOULD BE INFLICTED
ON MANY OFFICERS WHO HAVE RELIED. ON THE CON-
TINUANCE
OF THE
vPißcilr
ought
tobe REGULATIONS.'takcnof
add, 'that
theAm claims of
d they
a liberal
these officers, and that, in introducing a !change which the
public good requires, THEY OUGHT TO BE CAREFULLY PRO.
TECTED FROM INJURY AND FROM HAVING THEIR JUST
EXPECTATIONS DISAPPOINTED.' They then recommend a
general Brevet, and that the new regulations for promotion.
o the rank of Colonel ' SHOULD NOT APPLY TO EXISTING
-Lair TENANT-COLONELS OR MAJORS, INCLUDING CAP•
TAT:Ns AND LIELJTENANT-COLONELS OF TER GUARDS.
This YOUR MEMORIALISTS presume can mean nothing
else than that all Lieutenant-Colonels and Majors, in
eluding those of the Guards, existing as such on the 17th
June, 1854, should be promoted, in tarn, as Field-Officers,
and should not be passed over by others under the new
regulations.
" YOUR MEMORIALISTS fully admit that nothing can be
more fair, straightforward, or intelligible than the views
and intentions thus set forth. • -

"But the succeeding paragraph in the Report contradicts
the previous one, just quoted ; for it proceeds to say, ' The
same regard to vested interests prompts us to recommend
that the existing Captains and Lieutenant-Colonels (not
being mounted Officers) SHOULD SERVE SIX YEARS IN COM-
MAND OF A COMPANY BEFORE THEY OBTAIN THE RANK OF
COLONEL,'—tho reason assigned for this regulation being
that ' the duties they perform arc of a less responsible na-
ture,' and that—but for this provision—these would be
' ultimately' ' an undue proportion of Guards Generals.'
" YOUR MEMORIALISTS respectfully submit that, if jus-
tice requires that vested interests should be respected, the
principle must be of universal application, and those inte-
rests must, O. maintained in their integrity and without
compromise under whatever circumstances ; so that the
prospects of men who have embarked their fortunes on the
public faith shall not be injured or disappointed.
"Tol7lt MEMIIIRIALISTS humbly request YoUS.MAJEarr
to consider what these vested interests are.
" It has been-shown-thatvg.A.o.tha rank of Lieutenant* -
Colonel purchase is the rule of the service, and that pro.
motion to higher rank has hitherto proceeded by periodical
general Brevets.
" The system of promotion above the rank of Lieutenant.
Colonel has now been altered, in the manner which has
boon above explained, but with a provision that existing •
vested rights are to bo respected. It therefore follows that
all those who became Captains and Lieutenant-Colonels pre-
viously to the 17th June, 1834, have a vested right to expect
that they shall rise to the rank of Colonel in their place en
Cte list, Without having officers junior in rank to themselves
put over their heads.
" Moreover, the vested interests of these officers are ren-
dered still stronger and more important by their having
been acquired under arrangements fixed by authority, and
at prices higher than those paid for the equivalent rank in
the other branch of the service ; or, in the wards of the
Commissioners in their Report, THEY HOLD THE RANK
OF LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, THEIR 1110MMISSIONS BEING
EXCHANGEABLE WITH LIEUTENANT-COLONELCIES OF THE
LINE, ON WHICH ACCOUNT THE REGULATED PRICE OF SUCH
COMMISSIONS HAS BEEN FIXED AND PAID FOR BY THEM
♦T A HIGHER RATE.'*

" Though the Report of the Royal Commission alludes
only to the rank of Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel, that
being the most important from its having been already ob-
tained, yet every Officer who entered or exchanged into
the Guards previously to the 20th June, 1854, has a vested
interest. The principle adopted will have the effect of
comparatively accelerating the promotion of the Line and
retarding that of the Guards. Therefore, these Officers,
having embarked their services and fortunes according to
established system of the Service, have, in strict justice
and equity, a claim to have their interests respected.
" Such, then, being the vested interests in question—
, the protection and maintenance of which are dwelt upon
and prescribed as a sacred duty in the earlier portion of
the 52d section of the Report of the Royal Commissioners
—YOUR MEMORIALISTS feel it their duty to submit to
YOUR MAJESTY that, through the regulation recommended,
in direct contradiction to it, in a subsequent part of the
same section, and since established by the General Order
of the 23d November, those vested intoresta have been,
and are, day by day, and before their eyes, sacrificed and
set aside, insomuch that the Officers of the Guards do not
enjoy:the same privilege of immunity and protection which
has been accorded to the greater part of their comrades of
the Line, both classes of officers having, nevertheless, be-
come Lieutenant-Colonels under faith of the same arrange-
ments, and in conformity with the same regulations.
" YOUR MEMORIALISTS beg to lay before YOUR 3iA•
JESTY the names of three or four Wficers who have already
suffered by this disregard of their vested rights, and by
this ex post facto regulation, which will suffice to show the
effect produced. The first promotions consequent upon the
Warrant appeared on the 28th November, 1854, since
which Colonel Scott, of the Scots Fusilier Guards, wild
Co!onel Gordon, of the Grenadier Guards, have each seen
THIRTY•FOUR officers (excluding Ordnance) JUNIOR TO
THEMSELVES PA§S OVER THEIR HEADS,—Lieuttnant-
C-olond Tyrwhiti, of tit e• &via Pusiller t7uards, has already
had THIRTY-ONE JUNIORS placed above hiln,+—and there
are others who have not yet been passed over by so many,
but who will equally, and to a greater extent, suffer as
Lieutenant-Colonels of the Line successively complete the
three years' service to the rank of Colonel. In the last few
weeks also the injury inflicted upon those vested interests
has been very much enhanced. Till recently the Officers
1 of the Guards had to take their chance with the ordinary
number of Lieutenant-Colonels in the Army, but now no
less than forty-six Regiments have Second Lieutenant-
Colonels already added to them, the whole of whom, if
not reduced, will become Colonels in three years, and will
ho promoted over, and must necessarily still further im-
pede the progress of, all those promoted to Captains and
Lieutenant-Colonels in the three yearii preceding the 17th
of June, 1854, and who by the terms of the Report have
every claim to protection.
" Youß MEMORIALISTS respectfully affirm that, through
not allowing the Captains and Lieutenant-Colonels of the
Guards, existing as such on the 17th June, 1854, to take
their turn of promotion with the Line, but prescribing to
them a probation of six years' service before they shall be
eligible to the rank of Colonel, those officers have been ar-
bitrarily arrested in their progress, while the progress of
their more fortunate competitors have been unchecked and
unlimited. Tho officers in question have, in a word, been
fettered and bound, and unjustly retarded ; while, in con-
sequence of the retrospective action of the Warrant, officer
after officer of the Line, junior to them in rank, has been
promoted over their beads to their prejudice.
" YOUR MEMORIALISTS trust that YOUR MAJESTY will
not think they use too strong language in characterising
time course of proceeding thus adopted and illustrated as
amounting to A BREACH OF FAITH towards those who had
risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel previously to the
17th June, 1851, and who have invested their money is
purchase of their promotion under the established rules of
the service : —While, at the same time, they would repeat,
in so characterising it, they feel convinced—giving due
weight to the profession of regard for vested interests on
which the report proceeds, and to the personal character of
the Royal Commissioners—that this breach of faith is at-
tributable simply to an oversight, resulting from inadver-
tence and ignorance of facts, which, had they been before
the Commissioners, would, they entertain no doubt, have
induced them to recommend a more equitable system of
promotion as applicable to those officers of the Brigade
whose interests they now bring under YOJR MA.J.IIESTY'S

notice.
" YOUR MEMORIALISTS are aware that it has beau urged
that it would be unfair and inconvenient to have so large
number of officers of the Guards in the higher ranks of
ithe army as would be the case unless the new arrangement
was carried out ; but admitting,
for the sake of argument,
the supposed inconvenience, it is clear that great alterations
for the benefit of the service cannot be effected all at once.
nor without the state paying heavily for it for a time.
YOUR MEMORIALISTS respectfully beg to state their convict
tion that every officer of the army, be he Linesman or be
he Guardsman, who was field-officer previously to the 17th
June, 1854, has a vested right to become a Colonel and a
General in his turn, if he has complied with the regula-
tions ; and ought not (except in cases of distinguished ser•
vice) to be passed over by his juniors. They also admit that
there would be a greater number of Generals from the
Guards for some years ; but as that increase, caused by ex•
isting interests, would bo temporary, it ought to be con-
siderod of a supernumerary character, and not interfere
with the progress of others to the rank of General.

" TOUR MEMORIALISTS humbly lay before YOUR MA-
JESTY this result of the inquiry into the prospects of the
Officers of YoIIR MAJBSTT'S Brigade of Guards as affected
by the Royal Warrant of the 6th October, 1854 ;
and they
venture to submit that the propositions which they under-
took to establish have been amply demonstrated.
" It would be useless to attempt to conceal from YOUR
MAJESTY that the Officers of the Guards feel most deeply
that the interests of their Brigade have not been adequately
dealt with by the Royal Commissioners. They have to re-
gret that neither the military authorities nor the Royal
Commissioners have ever entered minutely into the lieu.
ings of the question, in oemmu.nication.with those most in
terested, or made such inquiries rmght have preserved
them from' incurring the responsibility of—what Youn
MAJESTY'S Guards are convinced has been uniatentional.
—injustice. The Officers of the Brigade of Guards brought
the subject under the notice of the military authorities
through their Commanding Officer two months before the
Warrant was submitted to YoUR MAJESTY, and solicited
inquiry, with a view to a fair adjustment—but, although
the Commander-m• Chief himself has admitted the injus-
tice done to the Guards, yet no notice has been taken of
their application, and their claims have been treated with
I apparent indifference,

" YOUR MEMORIALISTS conceive they would b• doing an

* " The relative prices of commission (Arro7 Bank) in th
Guards and in the Line are as follows :
Lieut.-Colonel. capui,. Lieutensati
£ £ £
Guards 4,800 2,050 ...... 1,200
Line 4,500 1,800
t 4.!.. L 11911414 Onbilace, 1i0.1%. thou ilin•Zin Ottims,