The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-01 00:00:00

GENERAL PEEL ON ARMY AND NAVY

.EXPENDIIU.RE.

At the annual dinner of the Huntingdonshire
Agricultural Society, yesterday, Gen. PEEL, after
some other remarks, said—We are asked where is
the army P I might answer that question by ask-
ing, where it is not It is spread over the whole
world, and that not for any purpose of aggression,
bnt merely to de'end the empire upon which it is
said the sun never sets, and over which I am afraid
some portion of our visitors during their stay here
believe that it never rises. (Laughter and cheers.)
But although our troops are employed mainly for
purposes of defence, they have more foreign duties
to perform than any army in the world. They are
subject to greater vicissitudes of climate, and more
of those changes which a soldier is subject to than
the men in any other army ; and it is the manner in
which they, as well as the navy, perform their
duties which secures to them the praise and appro-
bation of their fellow•subjects. (Cheers.) I now
approach that part of the subject in which we are
perhaps more deeply interested, and that is the ex-
pense of the army. It is perfectly true, denied by
nobody, acknowledged by everybody, that our naval
and military expenditure, considering that this is a

time of peace, has arrived at an enormous amount.
But the necessity for that has arisen from its having
been indispensable that we should adapt our artna-
ments to those changes which science is introducing
in everything connected with the systems of attack
and defence. At this moment we have two great
departments in the State, the Admiralty on the one
hand, and the War-office on the other, the duty of
each of which is to endeavour to destroy the work
of the other. It is the duty of the Admiralty to
endeavour to construct vessels with armour plating
which can resist the effect of any missiles that can.
be thrown against it. It is the duty of the War—
office to produce a gun that can at once destroy the
best vessels 'hut can be produced by the Admiralty.
This is all very expensive ; but it is a very n;:essary
and a very useful rivalry. (Hear, hear.) I for one
have lived long enough to know that the worst pos-
sible deception is deception of ourselves. There is
nothing so fatal as to believe that you have either
the best ship or the best gun until you have proved
it to be so. In the moment of trial you may find.
your ship riddled like a sieve, or that your gun may
be silenced by a superior one. Depend. upon it,
whatever may be the cost, England must have the
best gun and the best ship that science can produce.
(Cheers.) And I have no doubt, looking at the
talent directed to the attainment of those objects,
that we shall be successful. (Cheers.) I believe
that, at the present time, you have the best
ship afloat and the best gun extant; but there

is no knowing that there may not be something
superior. Now, if we have been too precipitate,
adopting to too great an extentinventions which
at the time may not appear, bat prove to be the best,
without waiting to see whether something better
may not be produced—if we have been too precipi-
tate in that respect, it is not the fault of any go-
vernment or of the head of any department. It is
your fault—l don't say it is a fault—it is, at all
events, you who, through your representatives in
parliament, and through the public press, have
always been calling out for more iron ships and
more rifled guns. (Hear, hear.) It is exceedingly
difficult to draw a correct line between too much
caution on the one part and too sanguine a view as
to the merits of any invention on the other. In the
first instance, if you are too cautious you will always
ba waiting and will never do anything. You will
always be waiting for something better. (Hear.)
You can understand this, for you have seen a steam
plough to-day of great merit, but probably you
will hang back and wait until something bet-
ter is produced. With respect to a great de-
partment of the state, if you are too sanguine,
if you supply yourselves to too great on extent
with some invention, probably another may
be brought forward immediately afterwards
which may show that what you have previously
done is comparatively useless. It is to ascertain

which is best that the experiments are going on of
which you are daily reading accounts in newspapers.
I have no doubt in my own mind that in the end

the gun will prevail, and will succeed in perforat-'
ing any iron plating and any ship that can be put
afloat, and that the merit of that gun will be the
greatest merit which can produce the most power-
ful effect at the longest distance. (Hear, hear.)
If you were to send out to-morrow the best fleet
you could have produced three years ago, armed
with the smooth-bore gun to meet a smaller force
armed with guns of the present day, you might as
well send out so many boys to catch birds by put-
ing salt on their tails—(laughter)--with the dif-
ference that the birds would take care you should
not come near them, and would take all the salt of
you. (Cheers and laughter.) What I have now'
said applies to the material, the toast applies to the
men. In them, thank heaven, there can be ne
change, and lam sure we want none. Tney will
serve any guns they may be placed at, and do their
duty on board any ships that the Admiralty mai
place afloat. (Hear, hear.) Seeing no naval officer
present, I beg to return thanks both for the arral
and navy.