The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-25 00:00:00

ARMY ESTIMATES.

Mr. F. MAULE said, that having so fully on a former
occasion stated the particulars of the votes for the army,
ho should now do no more,than simply place in the hands
of the Chairman the list of the votes
.required for his
department.
A vote of 1,336,8801. was then asked for to defray the
expenses of her Majesty's land forces of Great Britain and
Ireland, being part of a sum of 3,836,880/., 2,500,0001.
of which had been already voted.
Sir D. L. EVANS called attention to a petition which
he had recently presented, complaining of some disad-
vantage under which retired officers laboured, in conse-
quence of their not being allowed to advance in rank the
same as those on active service.
Mr. F. MAULE said this had always been the case,
and he had heard no previous complaint on the matter.
It might be a question how far it was advisable to ad-
vance these officers in the way pointed out, though it
might be done without any additional expense. To the
officers themselves he thought it mattered little. On the
subject of the dockyard battalions, to which the Hon.
and Gallant Gentleman had also alluded, he remarked
that they were a most efficient branch of the service, but
the officers would not take rank as officers of the line,
but only as volunteer officers, and after officers of the
same rank. Hence he thought there would be no diffi-
culty in the two corps acting together.
Sir D. L. EVANS said the Peninsular medals were
not yet issued. He hoped that some order would be
made by Government which should permanently regu-
late the issue of medals to the army. The East India
Company having issued medals to the officers in their
service, it became desirable that the same should be done
in the army generally.
Mr. B. OSBORNE considered that the treatment of
the whole army, especially the officers of the line, with
regard to decorations, had been most infamous. The
reason was, neither the Government nor the House had
I any control over the Commander-in-Chief of the Horse
Guards. The latter required thoroughly cleansing out,
and he would submit a motion on the subject. At pre-
sent a meritorious officer had not the slightest chance
of notice from the Horse Guards. The recent Kafir
war had been carried wholly through, so far as the
brunt of the contest was concerned, by three or
four officers, who were thanked in every dispatch,
and that was all. Tho names of Colonel Somerset,
Captain Hogg, and Captain Bissett, occurred in every
dispatch ; but they had received no promotion. Under
the present system the Under-Secretary of the Colonies
was actually Secretary-at-War, as far as the colonies
were concerned, for he had the disposal of the whole of
the forces there. Col. Somerset had received a very
flattering testimonial of gratitude from Major-Gen.
Smith, the Governor of the Cape; and that was all he
had ever received; while such men as Sir 11. Bulwer,
Mr. Trevellyan, and Mr. Chadwick, men of great merit
no doubt, vere made C.B.'s, and one of them was in the
recelat' of' 2,5001. a year,—(Hear, hear.) Capt. Hogg,
with his native levies of llottentots, levied at great pri-
vate expenses of his own, had been mainly instrumental
in concluding the war. This was stated in dispatches ;
he was thanked by Sir 11. Pottinger and Sir P. Mait-
land, and yet, when he came home to the Horse Guards,
he was told there was neither promotion nor decoration
for him.—(Hear.) Capt Bissett was thrown aside in
the same way; the reason being that the rummer in
which-Oet war was originally carried on was not very
;'eoniefiViiffor the Horse Guards to recollect. These
'dim ought at least to be made unattached majors, and
receive the decoration of C.B. In the Chinese war the
-services of Capt. Brereton and Gen. D'Aguilar bad been
similarly neglected. He knew the Secretary-at-War
had no power in this case, but he hoped these remarks
would be listened to in the proper quarter.
Mr. F. MAULE said that, so far as he had seen of the
Horse Guards, he believed that great fairness was exhi •
bited in their management. In this Kafir war the first
person said to be neglected was Colonel Somerset, an
intimate connexion of the person who was said to be all-
I powerful at the orse Guards.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. OSBORNE—I don't believe he is.
Mr. F. MAULE said that any apparent neglect of the
officers in the Kafir war might arise from the whole cir-
cumstances not yet being taken into consideration. At
all events, it appeared the neglect, if neglect there were,
was not confined to those of low rank. As to Captain
Hogg, ho did not hold the rank which brought him
vithiu the scope of the decorations alluded to. On the
question of the general management of the army he
would not enter into details, as it was now under the,
consideration of a Committee.
Mr. HUME said that not one of the reforms in tb
army recommended by a Commission that sat nine year 3
ago had been carried out, although that Commissio j,
which comprised four members of the present Cabin( 4,
had made thirteen or fourteen recommendations ;
amongst others, that the Horse Guards should be placed.
on the same footing as the navy. This had been the
case, although the Duke of Wellington, the soldier's
friend, filled the office of Commander-in-Chief. Ono
great defect of our system was that there were no re-
wards for civilians for distinguished services. Ile un-
derstood the Committee on the estimates had refused to
make any recommendation as to the army ; the duty
would therefore devolve on the Government of carrying,
out the reforms so long needed. He entirely differed
with the Secretary-at-War in thinking that rank was of
little consequence to military men.
Mr. OSBORNE said that Captain Hogg's ineligibility
to decoration might easily have been removed by making
him a major. In the case of Major Pearson, although a
major, no decoration was given, Lie was far from wish