The Sun.
London, England, 1871-02-23 00:00:00

TE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1871.

As some of the speakers on Mr. TREVELYAN'S motio❑
remarked, the position of the COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
is.assailed, not because he is a Royal Duke, but be-
cause be is an anti-reformer. It is mere affectation,
however, to say that his being a member of the
Royal Family has nothing to do with the
matter. A man in his position is le:s
amenable to the will of the country than any
ordinary officer. In a word, the rule that a Com-
mander-in-Chief ought to hold office for a limited
period is one of general application, but is of more
than usual necessity in a case like the present.
One of the effects of the measure submitted to
the House of Commons by Mr. CARDWELL will be a
vast increase in the powers of the Commander-in-
Chief. The privilege of promotion by purchlse is
abolished, and henceforth it will devolve upon the
Horse Guards to select officers for advancement
according to merit. Clearly, the nation ought to
have an understanding as to the means by which
this enormous patronage is to be administered with-
out abuse. One condition is essential. The Com-
mander-in-Chief ought to be immediately responsible
to the Secretary for War.
.But, unfortunately, this
responsibility has not yet been brought about,
and, as we pointed out immediately' after,
Mr. CARDWELL brought in his bill, the prime defect
of the measure is that its provisions for an alteration
in this respect are obscure, if not valueless. The
Horse Guards and the War Office will be placed
and r one roof, but 'surely this is not all that is
needed. They might, as Mr. TREVELYAN remarked,
be in one room, and we should gain little if
the relations of the two were not altered. In the
matter of promotion we can form a very good idea
from previous experience of the relations likely to
be kept up between the Duke of CAMBRIDGE and
Mr. CARDWELL. If any appointment were com-
plained of in the House of Commons, the WAR
MINISTER would at once rise with his blandest smile
and assure the hon. querist that the young man
promoted as exceedingly deserving, that there was no
proof of his being less deserving than any other, that
he would always do credit to the flag under which
he served, &c. The facts are these : the present
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF has refuse I to be responsible
to the War Office, and has always been
practically irresponsible. In 1801 he was formally
declared irresponsible ; after a long battle he
was formally declared responsible; but the practical
effect ha; been an uninterrupted course of irrespon-
sibility. Does the new bill provide sufficient means
for changing this state of affairs? They are not
apparent. The advantages of Mr. TREVELYAN'S pla❑
of making the Commandership-in-Chief a five years'
teraire in the way of establishing the War Minister's
supremacy are too obvious to need exposition.

The second of Mr. TREVELYAN'S resolutions is the
natural corollary of the first. He proposes to cut off the
sources of useless expenditure. Such expenditure is
the result of the last fourteen. years' government at
the Horse Guards. Whilst miserable clerks have
been turned out cf their offices, and dockyard
labourers shipped off to Canada, the honorary
colonelcies, the duplicated salaries, &c., &c , of the
Horse Guards have remained intact. A Govern-
ment, one of whose pledges, and a very good one,
was economy, has been able to do nothing with these
abuses.. Thousands a 'year might justly be put into
Mr. LOWE'S pocket, and yet he cannot take them. Is
this respocsibility ? The most expensive regiments in
the army are for military purposes the most useless.
The honorary colonelcy of £1,350 granted to the
Prince of WALES for "long service" was somewhat
invidiously selected by Mr. ANDERSON, for it is
merely an instance among many. Much money is
indisputably wasted in this way. Can the question why
it is not saved admit of more than one- answer ?
It is to be regretted that the GovernMent have re-
jected Mr. TREVELYN'S propositions. So neces-
sary are they in the interests of both
economy and efficiency that it may well
be doubted whether an otherwise good measure
will not be spoiled by their omission. A system of
government in the Artily, totally distinct in character
from that by which the Navy is managed, can be
defended, or excused, only on the plea that the Army
is to remain what it has ever been—an aristocratic
lounging ground,

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

sums of money, to be paid by certain cities, and yet
no- end can be gained by these exactions except the
ar!)itrary exercise of power. The great mistake
which the Germans make is to overlook the
fact that extreme harshness on their part renders the
French people desperate, and inclined to com-
mit acts of violence they might otherwise abstain
from. Colonel Hamley thinks that the question for
decision is, whether war is brigandage. The Ger-
mans have met with remarkable success, which ought
to have made them moderate, but which
has instead increased their rapacity. They
have boasted of the efficiency of their
stores and provisions, and yet committed acts ot
oppression to obtain supplies from the ruined French
people. If such a course of action can be justified,
he considers that no more abuse should be lavished
on the first Napoleon, for he never left a theatre ot
war so desolate as are the ravaged spaces between
Paris and the Rhine.

mills and the town, ft distance of three miles, part of '
which has a rising gradient of 1 in 10. Up this
steep incline the road steamer bravely drew a load of
seven tons, though the road was covered with
solid ice. The wheels of these steamers
are covered with indiarubber tires, and
as india-rubber does not slip on ice, the steel
guards are removal, and the engines do not slip. The
question is a very important one as regards the
practical value of the steamers, as they can now, it is
evident, be used for regular traffic in very cold
countries, such as Russia and Canada, where sledging
is commonly employed. The indiarubber tires run
over almost any kind of surface, and can consequently
be used on the dry hot sands of India as well as on
frozen roads.