The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-10 00:00:00

11`,VEN iNG DITION

TO THEGirl`
REV LORD FITZROY ,()\'l",l
&c., Sze., &e.

UT

it.~;v

h

,11.„er LORD,—
As you now possess more power and
nfl,,usnce over the Army than any other person, by the
.eh Fonfidener:-you so honourably enjoy in. the estima-
olmeatien and you
of our worthy and most respected
Arneral., the Commander-in-Chief of her Majesty's
,a'
co Y 4 and most justly so,—ter it He 1"-'''''
4 1 won by your larave and stallaet conduct
by
the battle-field—I venture to address your Lordship
Pl
,efi e aid of the public press. It has given 1,,e
greatd
to
to see that several Serjeants have been premete
"'" 'tie rank of Ensign during the last few months, as it
proves
to me that your Lordship is of opinion that it will
benefit the service. Pardon me for being concise, as I
ot:sa to be fully understood by your Lordship. It will give
!leg encouragement, and obtain for the Army a be. ter
4ss of recruits ; it will promote the moral character of
our soldiers ; it will abolish the horrid lash. Armed men,
!nY Lord, are best governed by eqiiity, truth, and prompt
juistice. It will give us a usetal and highly valuable
Cl?of officers for out-post duty,
male to contend with
'' subalterns of the enemy's hussars and light troops.
to the use were boys just come from school or cellege
ei army
(let in the Peninsula, when sent with cavalry on
,0 eeted duty to the out-posts ? You must recollect the
hestant false alarms, and whole is nets surprised end
(ta
.t,ig_, n b 7 the enemy, the troops in camp constantly dis-
med,theirspirit bioken,and,inconsequence,their bodily
eaxeertion much impaired ; for sound sleep and good rest
hrearedfulforboth men and horses in active service, as the
wh th off the army in a great measure depends on it : for
en toouch thought for the morrow, or ennui, takes
possession f an English camp, by false alarms, the ranks
dsuoereenttbin, and the hospitals in the rear full. We had
proof of that fact in the Peninsular war. Par-
!ll,l3 tne—but truth requires no disguise. Your Lord-
'lf.s. generous and Meritorious protection of, and good
rrvieei to the sons of our gallant friends who have
;oat their lives on the battle-field, or on duty in erre ao-
,,(lntes by the ravages of unhealthy climates, have won
rll'Oil the prayers and. snore esteem of hundreds of ex-
ent mothers, who mourn the loss of their gal-
have who 'have fallen in the service of their
ltheir t 4
' The 'proof of the high honour and noble spirit
ottethe sons of old officers is their anxious desire to fol-
gallant example of their parents, and to serve
L r country in her Majesty's army, and navy. Your
°l.dsl"P's kind remembrance of your comrades in
arll convinces your fellow-subjects that you
hi , possess a true and noble heart, and that the honours,
seg%o. rank, and confidence bestowed on you by your
10 "ign are well-deserved, as you keep in mind, what
u 'lady practise, that the great and real value of rlank,
subjects
riches is the power of doing good to your fel oa-
se je.cts• but more particularly to that branch of the
rviee to which you belon
I e g•
vent ure to call your attention to the great good it
would do the. Army to abolish the rank of Ensign, and
to make all Lieutenants "of one grade." The extra
expense to the country would be under 25,000/. a year,
Year
Which would give SOO Subalterns upwards of 301. a
ear each, and add much to their comfort and the well-
ldoing of the Service. The difference of pay and ailow-
n nees between Ensign and Lieutenant in the East
:,, M.nales is very considerable, to the manifest injury of the
gns This alone calls for your Lordship's prompt
attentl • •
on• The advance of pay and allowances to Su-
abaltern officers is a matter that calls for the considera-
n of the Military Commission now sitting in London,
s it would place officers promoted from the ranks in a
condition to live with comfort and support the position
1 society to which they had been advanced by their
goo
d conduct. Queen Anne increased the pay of the
Q,.ilialterns of the Forces. I hope our Must Grecous
ueen Victoria will now bestow her Mejesty's favour
and Royal bounty on the gallant Subalterns of th Arms
Woo are the mainspring of our Forces, both at home and
abroad, by a message to Parliament from her _Majesty
to Place all Subalterns on the same rate of pay at home,
and allowances abroad.
As regards the colours of regiments of foot, in place
of two immense pieces of useless silk, as at present, each
tiegiment ought to have one standard (the same size as
those now used by cavalry regiments) to direct the
March of a regiment when in line, and to rally on,
should occasion require it, to be always carried by a
Colour-Sergeant, in place of a boy-officer, who has quite
enough to do to carry himself. A superior class of Ser-
geants ought to be established—to promote the disci-
pline of the Army--to be called Colour-Sergeants, one
to each troop and company, and, when appointed
Colour-Sergeant, to have a warrant from the Secre-
tary-at-War, the same as the old Quarter-masters to
troops of cavalry (at two shillings a day each .4 extra-
Pay.") This would hold out a just reward for good
Conduct among the non-commissioned officers : for good '
example to a soldier is far before precept. Such a step
would prove a great advantage to the Service, and cost
the country under 40,000/. a year. Colour-Sergeants
notto be Pay-Sergeants, but Assistant-Adjutants, &c. &c.
kt present we have about one officer to every fifteen
fin in the army, which might be increased at least
ltY thousand men without the expense of a single ad-
`tlional officer. If the flank companies of all regiments
were abolished, it would benefit the Service, as it
wi.o.uld destroy. all jealous feeling and invidious dis-
i,ection in regiments, and last, though not least,
.t Would greatly improve the appearance of the army
when under arms, formed in line. And if the army
were remodelled, say four battalions to each regiment,
eight companies in each battalion, three battalions may
serve abroad and one remain at home, to form men
an (Meer: to supply the battalions in service. Such
arrangement would do justice to the officers and
_
!viten
It! the Army to eammand in chief each regiment of onefour
l
natraions, and to remain with the battalion at home, and
a "dal Ought to be given to soldiers for good conduct
and sisrvices in the field, to have the names of all battles
engraved on it, by order of a General Gazette. Such
an arrangement would keep us effective in the field and
Promote the discipline of the Army to a very great extent.
111 January, 1835 I called Lord Howick's attention
to the absolute necessity of making a better arrangement
for the transport of officers' baggage when on service, as
also the great benefit and advantage it would prove to
our cavalry to have the equipment reduced in weight
and made as light and compact as possible. For
example, the wretched system of our Hussars
furnishing their oven blankets to put under the
saddle-tree in place of a proper well-made pannel ;
such a system ought to be abolished, and proper
Pannels supplied by Government in place of blankets,
Which sent hundreds of horses to the rear with sore
backs in the Peninsular War. And, as regiments are
given to General Officers as a pecuniary reward, I
hope at no distant day the Secretary at-War will re-
mend the House of Commons to give a fixed sum
to each General so promoted. In the first place, the
Government ought to clothe our soldiers and furnish
saddles, &c. &c., to the cavalry, in the s .me nay that
the Ordnance now supply every article for the use of
the Artillery service. The articles used by the Ord-
( 'lance are all of good materials ; the clothing is of a
firm and good texture, fit for bard work and expo-
flare to the weather, which is not the case with much
of the clothing of soldiers of the line, as contracts are
Made to obtain the clothing as cheap as
'r
he
benefit of the Colonel
orsill
of
e-A thertregiment.ery are much better in
and bridles of the l
every respect than the saddles now used by our Hussars
d other cavalry-regiments, whic'e ought not to be
the case. As regards the equipment of the French
cavalry, the 17th and 27th
ilittgaitri,ntsin ofs Spain, were
n‘lntnanded by General Laiem
ouch lighter and better equipped than our cavalry.
: e took several of both Regiments prisoners
in e, •
, Spain, as also
lei th June, I Sl2. We had a .
&c.,
the General sfullAi
°A inspecting all their arms, clothing, saddles,
opportunityd-de-C i m
'ee., in derision of our cumbersome cloaks_ (that,
Put our horses out of condition and greatly Re ; !(i
i°
giving ti.em sore backs) the French eaval; y op-
' Posed to us in the Peninsular war, on the outposts, called
1:let ?unison rouges, for we certainly did look mere like
houses than men on horseback, they had snug cc atees,
as Comfortable a dress as could be worn as an upper
Invering for Dra eans—something in appearance and
ii
oan:rikeierleieskosepywhat areg now called pea-jackets in England.
all the bad customs of foreign troops as to
! ; but to the good articles of dress for. active
service we shut our eyes. In the second place, it wouldn.
Se
at
i sti
to r
promote the comfort of both officers and men, andt e
e.
E
re a regular turn of duty to all regiments : for
kept Tri pre-
se
roinTesent ts are oftentimes sent to and
or in
plain lnches to give better allowances and
_pay,titto the
English, to give a greater
.1 do ho' '4°
hers
is a General in snug quarters at
prohorne. So
*heir °Pe the Military Commission will give thish letter
,onsideration and attention.
I.l3;etntaievve.. been Subalterns in the sel‘rivlenye.,obut most of
enjoy hereditary honors by birth-rielt, and
I,oprivit4onse do not think so much about the
.wa'nts anual
of officers and soldiers when in a bivouac in
' eign land as they ought to do.
The transport of troops on ship-board ought to. be
a
"tnended, and, in place of a small bad class of vessels,
to provision ought to be made by the Government
_OO carry troops in large and roomy
1 fl.oating barracks by the Admiralty, with a proper crew
d
ti navigate the vessels vessels, fitted as
so employed, to be commanded
..? °3' a Lieutenant in the Navy. Then a regular exchange
i/11,1 regiments may take place, with great befit to e
t *alth of the troops,
and with comfort toen the officerth s
1 end their families, who at all times ought to be fully
considered.
i but custom—the curse of Britain—retards all good
and Useful improvements for the good of the Army
and Nevy b
1 ! y the cry of vested interests of voters of
tt b
~Intteutou I
gas, such as the late borough of
i I eeueenborough to furnish transports by contract. So
i ! noscle for the love of job, in preference to justice and a
!I Prope
r regard for the health and safety of our troops
1 1 wn on a sea voyage.
The Emperor Napoleon called us a nation of shop-
) Iteefiers, not in derision of our wealth by eon:mires,—
i, shop-
)ter that he envied—but been use we made our G:mends
i' dealers and chapmen, to their Army by contract, without considering the iojury we
Were Join
. ' g to the health and comfort of our soldiers.
-,...._