The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-29 00:00:00

ECONOMY AND JUSTICE.

Economy is a good thing ; justice is a better. We
cannot afford to be economical at the expense of
being unjust. The Army and Navy Gazette publishes
a story which, as told by our professional contem-
porary, certainly does seem very shabby. On the
removal of Indian troops (much against their will)
from Hong Kong—a step insisted upon by the
War Department in order to save the In-
dian allowance—a, consolidated allowance for
China and Japan was substituted for In-
dian pay. This was represented to be insuf-
ficient to meet the high charges which pre-
vail in India for the necessaries of life; and,
after due inquiry, the War Office issued an amended
scale, guaranteeing a slight increase to officers
serving in China. But in granting this increase a
happy thought occurred to the tl.,en Secretary for
War. Japan is a part of the same command; he
had heard that living was much cheaper there, and
there was a treaty of exchange, called the Itzeboo
Fund, by which the officers largely benefited. So he
ordered that 95 per cent. was to be deducted from the
new allowance set forth in the royal warrant. it so
happens, however, that the cost of living has greatly
increased of late years in Japan, that the Itzeboo Mind
has a balance on the wrong side, so that the supposed-
advantages no longer exist. Thereupon the officers
protested, but in vain; they then took the very
serious step of handing in a memorial to their
general. Ile referred it to the Commander-in-Chief,
who admitted that the complaint was reasonable,
king convinced of this by the report of a royal com-
mission which was appointed to inquire into the
matter. But the War Office has refused to give
way, Mr. Cardwell having come to the same deci-
Ministers
sidea r e
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sion as Sir John Pakington. The fact that those
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have seen bears a very ugly look.

NAVY RETIREMENT.
Mr. Childers appears to be more successful than
his colleague in satisfying the service over which he
presidcs. "At first," says one of the professional
papers, " his acts were not only vigorous, but appa-
rently arbitrary." Now the First Lord has offered
most liberal terms for the retirement of the necessary
number of officers. It is said that not only will the
officials of over twenty years' service get ten years'
additional service allowed them in computing their
superannuation, but each year in excess will be
allowed to count in addition. It is expected that a
large number of officers will take advantage of this
offer, and so make room for a return to active
employment of the great bulk of those who have been
placed on the redundant list.
QUARRELLING IN HIGH PLACES.
The India Office and the Admiralty have quar-
relled. The result is that the public suffer. It has
been usual for the admiral commanding at Malta to
fill up the Indian troopships as they pass with time-
expired men and officers returning to England. But
a dispute having arisen between the two depart-
ments as to the price to be paid for the service, the
Crocodile lately returned home empty, although a
major and his family and some invalids were about
to return to England. These will now have to be
conveyed at a largely-increased expense to the nation.