The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-19 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, APP►IL 19, 1867.

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The necessity of a thorough reform in the admi-
nistration of our Army has long been felt by all
interested in its welfare and efficiency, but it has
recently been forced upon public attention by the
growing difficulty of obtaining a sufficient number
of men. There are no doubt many causes which
contribute to this deficiency ; the high rate of
wages and the increasing preference for pacific and
profitable pursuits weighing heavily in the scale,
but there is quite sufficient in the military system
to account for the decreasing attractions of our
service to resp,:ctable men. The evils and drawbacks
against which all ranks of the army have to contend
have been clearly and forcibly stated by Sir CHARLES
TREVELYAN,* who, whether we regard his profes-
sional or colonial experience, has had ample oppor-
tunities for forming an enlightened and independent
opinion. It is worth while, then, to examine into
the objections which Sir C. TREVELYAN raises
against our present system, and to discover which
in his estimation are its weak points. The two
cardinal errors, according to our author, are the
purchase system and the method of recruiting. The
injustice of the purchase system is strongly dwelt
upon, as well as its discouraging effect upon the
poorer members of the profession, and the great
injury which it does to the efficiency of the ser-
vice.

The absurdity of appointing a man
to a responsible position because he has
a few thousands to spare, to the exclusion
of others of capacity and experience, is so glaring

that it is only wonderful it should have been so

long tolerated. Periodically we have a good deal
of discussion about it, and plenty of wise sugges-
tions are made ; but the old chains of habit, and
prejudice, and interest are strong, and the matter
most closely concerns those who are unable, from
their position, to agitate it successfully—the lower
ranks of the service. Money qualifications are
going out of favour as tests of individual or collec-
tive merit, and very recently we have seen the
House of Commons declare its preference for
another kind of qualification in a purely political
matter. It is surely inconsistent, then, to retain
the accidental possession of wealth as a test of fit-
ness for military promotion—fitness which can only
be acquired by one of two things—natural ability
or professional experience, neither of which can be
procured by money. Sir CHARLES TREVELYAN, in
treating of this subject, says, very justly and forc-
ibly, that "purchase and professional qualification
are antagonistic and incompatible principles. If
certain sums of money have to be deposited as the
condition of successive steps of appointment and
promotion, those who have ready money at their
disposal must be appointed and promoted even in
preference to other better qualified persons."
This is indisputable, and it is evident to
the most casual observer that a great check
is thus given to laudable ambition, and

enterprise, since, notwithstanding any exertion, any
experience, or any study of military science, an offi-
cer is halals to be passed over in favour of his juniors
in the service and his inferiors in ability, provided
they have the one recommendation of a full purse.
Sir C. TREVELYAN cites from the evidence of Lord
CLYDE a painful case. An officer who had been
promoted for service in the field, and had obtained
his brevet majority, led the assault at Chiang-kiang-
foo, and otherwise distinguished himself ; but though
he became brevet lieutenant-colonel, and was in
command of the 55th Regiment in the field in pre-
sence of the enemy, he bad the mortification of see-
ing a very young and inexperienced officer purchase
the commission over his head and take the command
of the regiment, the elder officer being forced to de-
scend to the command of a company. Such an in-
cident could not fail to dishearten both officers and
men, and must have been damaging to the best in-
terests of the service. The officer in question,
Lieutenant-Colonel CUDDY, was killed while leading
his company against the Redan ; and all familiar
with his professional career must have felt that his
country bad given him but a poor and insufficient
requital. As Sir CHARLES observes, the natural
consequence of the purchase system is to exclude
the middle ranks from the service altogether, and

those idle young men who want nothing better than
a profession, independent of personal exertion, and
in which success is no test of merit or ability, arc
attracted to the army to the public detriment.
Another evil is that since the army grows a kind of
fashionable pastime for the wealthy and aristocratic,
the style of living becomes so absurdly extravagant
that the holders of unpurchased commissions have
no comfort in their hard-won advancement. The
energies of the middle classes, which proved so
valuable to the country in the days of the yeoman
archers, are entirely excluded from the service, since

they are above associating with the low classes of
men who furnish the staple of our recruits, and are
unable to dream of competing with the wealthy
commission holders. In no other profession is a
system of purchase allowed. What would be
thought if the judgeships, or bishoprics, of the
dignities, of the medical profession were put up to
auction ? Yet, there is no more reason to suppose

that military science comes by intuition than other
branches of learning. It is not enough that a
judge should be just in intention; ho must be
familiar with the intricacies of the law before he is
duly qualified as an administrator of public justice.
It is not enough for a man to be intelligent and
humane to enable him to prescribe or to operate
with success ; he must give satisfactory evidence of
his physiological science or manipulative dexterity
before be can rank himself as M.D. or F.R.S.
Why, then, should a young and careless officer
be able from the accident of his position
in society to aspire to the highest ranks of his pro-
fession without exertion or sacrifice. In one sense
the evil is greater, since a man may keep out of law
if he will, and may select his own medical adviser,
but the interests of the country and the welfare of
large bodies of men are committed to the charge of
men whose principal recommendation is their
banker's hook ! Of course, in many cases, the pur-
be fully competent fur his pro-
chasing officer may
motion, but a system which necessarily excludes a
man of modest means must be admitted to be false
iu principle and dangerous in practice. Even those
who are able to purchase, however, have some rea-
son to complain. Unless a man be really wealthy,
he invests a large sum in an unsatisfactory and un-
remunerative manner. As Sir CHARLES TREVE-
LYAN observes, we encourage in the army what we
condemn in every other line of life—the sinking of
family property in an annuity on the lie of a single

* " The Purchase System in the Britih Army." BY
Sir Cha.rlos Trevelyan. Second E lition, with adlitions.
Longman,