The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-18 00:00:00

ARMY REFORM.

In military, as in most other affairs, responsibility
knows but small rest. Nec mora, MC requies. The
instant one phase of difficulty is passed another takes its
place. What is immediately before us is the re-embar-
kation of four armies, with all their material, or at least
such as honour or economy requires us to bring away.
Other questions, however, supervene of greater import-
ance. What are we to do with our army t Where is it
to be stationed ? And whet benefit, if any, is it to have
on our recent experience ? Is it to be kept up on the
Fame scale as before, wihout any other material change,
remaining a British army of the old sort, only half as
much again of it ? Or is the quality as well as the quan-
tity to be improved ? These questions may or may not
occur to those who are waiting to hear the particulars gof
the treaty, or counting the cost of the war and estimatin
its effect on the money-market, or who confine their at-
tention to the promised rejoicings and fireworks. But
they are very serious questions, and all the use of the.
military inquiry at Chelsea is its bearing upon their solu-
tion. As to the first of them—that is, the immediate
destination of our forces re-embarked from the Crimea—
we believe we may state with certainty that Gen. Eyre's
Division of 10,000 men is to go direct from Balaklava to
Canada. Such a measure will, no doubt, be variously in-
terpreted. We are not in the secret, and can only discuss
it as any Canadian or American politician might
do. It will, of course, be set down by some people
at once as a threat, or at least a measure of pre-
, caution ; indeed we do not see bow, just now, it
can escape the latter character, as the Canadians
themselves show no signs of disaffection, and in the pre-
sent temper of the British people on colonial affairs it is
doubtful whether we should take the trouble to coerce
them if they did. If it be, then, a measure of precaution,
the citizens of the United States, as they have just voted
a million of money for war steamers, will not be sur-
prised at our sending 10,000 men to the support of our
loyal fellow-subjects. Canada was stripped of all the dis-
posable forces for the service of this war, and, as our re-
publican neighbours have taken the opportunity of mak-
ing a disturbance, it is a matter of course that, as soon
as our forces are released, a portion of them should re-
turn to the colony. For our part, we much prefer this
solution to another which may suggest itself—viz.,
that we are to make a rule of maintaining a large
force in Canada. The colonists don't want it them-
selves. Indeed they asked permission to raise a
regiment for the war in the Crimea, and thought
themselves not very respectfully used when the offer

was declined. We trust, indeed, that we are giving
up the absurdity of an immense and costly army, in
the most unavailable and unimprovable form, spread in
small detachments over half a hundred colonies.

But, passing from the political considerations involved
in the reinforcement of Canada, there remains the larger
question, how are we to apply to our army the lessons
of recent experience 1 Many people, of that sort that
prophesy ill, and are too often right, will tell us that
nothing will be done, and that everything will go on as
it did before. It may be so, but we are still sanguine
enough to hope for better things. As the army is to
suffer no very considerable reduction for the present,
and will be kept at a respectable strength till the cold fit
comes over the British people, something must be done
at once to justify an immense and oostly armament. We
have now an army, and it would be a thousand pities
not to take the opportunity for those improvements which
it has been continually objected the scale of the army did
not admit of. For the present, at least, we shall have two
large bodies of men in camps of exercise, as they may be
called, at Aldershott and Curragh. In them the soldier
of the line ought to be taught every art that experience
has shown to be useful in war—that is, so far as time,
opportunity, and the capacity of the soldier will allow.
A camp ought to be a great military school. Every sol-
dier, indeed, may not be able to learn everything, for
there must still be subdivision of labour in an army, as
in a town or a village. But each regiment ought to be
independent of labourers, tradesmen, and artisans. It
ought to comprehend in its ranks as many navvies, care'
penters, masons, blacksmiths, tailors, shoemakerw,
saddlers, butchers, cooks, and bakers as possible. Ft,r
this purpose it ought, even in the neighbourhood of
towns, to provide for itself as much as can be done, eves
when nothing is gained but practice. It is always to be
expected that war will be in an enemy's country, and
provision must be made for that contingency. But in
an enemy's country an army must always expect to find
itself surrounded by deserts and ruins, and driven to
provide fer all its own wants as well as it can. In
this emergency there is sure to be such a demand
for labourers and handicraftsmen for the depots,
and other general purposes of the army, that each regi-
ment will be ill off if it has not time to spare. Of course
the soldiers, who are always needy, will be only too
gladly to work if they are paid for extra work. It will
be worth while to pay them handsomely, for a skilled
soldier is evidently worth two of the unskilled rsen who
rotted like sheep in the Crimea, with scarcely an idea of
helping themselves. r We repeat, that if we are to main-
tain a large army it will be necessary to do something
for the money it will cost. The British public will have
to be convinced that if it pays annually five or ten mil-
lions more than it has hitherto done for the national de-
fences, those defences are much more efficient than they
have been. Among other things, every camp ought to
have a proper proportion of cavalry, artillery, and en-
gineers ; and no pains or cost should be spared to bring
the cannon, the mortar, and the rifle up to the latest
improvement, and give the men a close familiarity with
their weapons.
Among other proposals for the reform of the army, it is
said that a mixed commission of officers and civilians will
s' on be appointed to Inquire into the system of purchase.
The names mentioned—the Duke of Somerset, Mr.
Ellice, Mr. S. Herbert, Lord Stanley, Sir De Lacy
Evans, Sir H. Bentinck, Colonel Wetherell, and an en-
gineer officer—are certainly entitled to respect. They are
said to have a leaning in favour of purchase, as the only
means of checking the influence of rank and power, and
giving the middle classes a chance in the army. With-
out purchase, it is argued, the aristocracy will monopo-
lise the service, with now and then a promotion from the
ranks ; but as a set-off against purchase, and to qualify
the influence of money, there is a great wish to carry
the test of examination as far as possible. How far this
can be done, and how high in the scale of promotion,
we do not hear guessed, but the argument of setting
it against purchase, if consistently carried out,
must go very high. Hard work, however, is
as good a test as examination, and as efficient
a counterpoise to the influence of wealth. Keep
soldiers al ways at work and make the camp a
perpetual rehearsal of the campaign, and we shall
Lear less of idle young men entering the army merely
for the name, the society, the uniform, and the trifling
occupation. The class of do-nothings, know-nothings,
and good-for-nothings would soon be driven away if they
ere compelled to go through a few years' camp service
almost as hard as the Crimea, except for the privations.
It this is done at once, and the British people become
satisfied that the army is an efficient institution, and
what it professes to be, they will be quite ready to keep
the army at its present standard ; but they certainly will
not like to pay twice as much as before for an army
simply twice as large, and just as likely, after all its
costly trainings, to fall into the wretched state of help-
lessness daily described at Chelsea when ordered upon
active service.—Times.

MARKET NEWS.—;This Day.)

CORN EXCHANGE.

To-day's market was very moderately supplied with all
kinds of wheat of home produce, nevertheless the demand
for that grain ruled very inactive, at Monday's decline in
the quotations. The general quality of the samples was
good.
Foreign wheat, the imports of which amount to 6,720
quarters, moved off heavily, and the quotations were
almost nominal.

We had a good demand for both English and foreign
barley, at very full prices. Malt ruled steady, at late rates.
The show of oats was large, and the oat trade was ♦ery
dull, at barely previous rates.
Beans, peas, and flour moved off heavily, at the late de-
cline in value.