The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-06 00:00:00

The New Colonels.

All the vacant regiments have been disposed of.
Lieut.-Gen. the Earl of Lucan becomes Colonel of
the Ist Life Guards, in the room of Lord Comber-
mere. The 19th Hussars, vacant by the death of
Gen. Pattle, will be filled by Lieut.-Gen. John Hall.
Major-Gen. Lawrence succeeds to the Bth Hussars,
vacant by Lord Lucan's removal ; and the 73d Re-
giment goes to Lieut.-Gen. Sir H. R. F. Davie. We
cannot say much for the happiness of the selections
on the whole. Lord Lucan's appointment to the
Household Cavalry may be regarded as inevitable.
The office of Gold Stick is associated with these
colonelcies; that office must be filled by a peer ; and
of the peers, who are general officers Lord Lucan has
the best clafm on the ground of seniority and respon-
sible service. But on a future vacancy it may well
be a question whether the choice of colonels for the
three Household Cavalry regiments should be re-
stricted to peers. They are in point of emoluments
and dignity almost the highest prizes of the service,
and as such they ought to be conferred on the
worthiest and most distinguished soldiers, irrespec-
tive of their social rank. We have now half a dozen
peers available for future vacanies—Lords Rosslyn,
Melville, Cardigan, de Ros, Rokeby, and Temple-
town ; and, with all respect for them, it cannot for
a moment be maintained that they are the men
who, above all others, should have a first
class prize on the ground either of their stand-
ing in the army, or the importance and gal-
lantry of their services. Without indulging in an in-
vidious comparison, we may say that the warmest
admirers of any one of them would not deny that
there are on the list of Generals several men whose
professional claims are far above theirs. The Foot
Guards' colonelcies are not restricted to peers or
even to Gardsmen ; and we hope that in future a
custom—for it is nothing more—will be departed from
which tends to shut out the most eminent members of
the profession from some of the highest professional
et been scarcely
alread b
ye
rewards. So long as these colonelcies were filled by men
have like Combermere, Raglan, and Seaton there was no
room for observation. But in the case of the half-
dozen
h
maintained
tnoblemenat we have
named
it
n can
full rewards
given to them. We are sure that during the un-
ennobled Generals of her army her Majesty can find
old soldiers of whose presence about her Court she
need feel no shame ; and we hope to hear that this
restriction will no longer be maintained. In the
present instance, as we have said, the appointment
of Lord Lucan was scarcely a matter of choice. To
the vacant colonelcy of the 19th Hussars, Lieu-
tenant-General Hall succeeds. He has never,
we believe, done a day's service out of England ; and
the selection of two Life Guardsmen (Lord Roe and
Hall) in succession for cavalry regiments is not just
to those from the Line, although they are few, who
have good service to show. Another appointment,
that of Sir H. F. Davie to the 73d, is equally open
to objection. If we do not err, that officer's ser-
vices have also been restricted to his native island ;
and men like Generals Eyre, Ridley, Braybrooke,
I Straubenzee, and others who have done good and