The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-29 00:00:00

practice to establish a comparatively slight test of capa-
city in the case of an officer upon entrance, but to com-
pel him to undergo a most severe examination some four
or five years later, wien he was ale ut to b i raised CO the •
rank of lieutenant. Now, that ho must confess he re-
gal ded as a plan most superior to the ,system which
ould make the efficiency of an officer depend entirely
upon the acquirements which he happened to possess
when he first obtained his commission. (Hear.) The
knowledge to which a young man of the age of 16 or 17
might have attained was influenced quite as much by
the circumstances of his position as by his personal cha-
racter or capacity ; but the knowledge of the same per-
son at the age of 20 or 21 would depend in a great tree. '
sure upon the use which he had made of his time, Red
upon his disposition to be industrious. (Hear, hear.)
He was, under these circumstances, strongly of opi-
nion that it would be most advisable not to hold out
to young men the prospect that aheir education was
finished the moment they entered the army, but,
upon the contrary, the necessity of acquiring
further information as a means of contributing to their
promotion at a subsequent period should be impressed
upon their minds. Those various questions—namely, the
establishment of a fit excluding test for all persons in the
case of first enlistment, the throwing open a certain
number of commissions to competition, the granting of
pecuniary rewards to those who might be found deserv-
ing of the distinction, and the institution of a separate
examination for those of tiers who were about to be
raised to the rank of captains or lieutenants—embraced,
he believed, all the educational means which, without
resorting to pedantic strictness, could well be applied to
the promotion of professional knowledge in the army at
large. With respect to the staff the case was, in his
opinion, of a character somewhat different, and he could
not help expressing his satisfaction at the statement
which had been made by the hon. gentleman the Un-
der-Secretary for War, to the effect that the new training
colleges for the members of the staff were intended to be
based upon the competitive principle, both with respect
to the first admission to them and in regard to the hen-
ours and distinctions which might be subsequently ob-
tained. The objections which he had urged against
the adoption of such a competitive system were, in the
first place, that in consequence of the way in which our
troops were scattered all over the world, the system
could not be carried into execution ; and, in the second
place, that, even if it could be carrier 1 int ► execution,
it was a scheme to which it was undesirable to have
recourse, inasmuch as, whatever test of the intellectual
advantages of a candidate it might afford, it presented
no proof of his moral or physical qualifications. Now,
in answer to the first objection he might observe that
it was, at ail events, of no force so far as the military
colleges were concerned, while he might state in reply to
the second that, in his opinion, the competitive test,
if fairly applied, afforded a much better proof of the
moral than even of the intellectual qualifications of
the candidate. Judging, for instance, from the analogy
presented by the acquisition of academic honours, he
did not believe that ability was the main reqedsite
for success. A far more essential possession was indus-
try—(hear, hear)—which was generally found to be
the accompaniment in youth of a good mural charact.r.
He might add that the danger that men possessing great
intellectual powers, but who were physically unfit for
military service, might in great numbers obtain commis-
sions under the operation of such a competitive system
was not one which it was probable would prevail to any
great extent, inasmuch as, practically speaking, it would
be found that men who were physically feeble would not
enter the army for the simple reason that they would be
likely to sucgeed better in some other profession. The
system of;competition furnished at all events, a better test
of a man's efficiency for the military service than either
wealth, or political connexion, or mere seniority, or pro-
motion obtained through the influence of favour. (Hear.)
It might, it was true, be regarded as having too demo
cratic a tendency ; but, in his opinion, there was no mode
of excluding a man from the higher branches of the ser-
vice at once so efficacious and likely to prove so gene-
rally acceptable to the country as that by which an edu-
cational test was established, which if he could not pass
he should be entitled to promotion. (Hear.) He would
only add that the subject was one which they were that
evening discussing upon imperfect information. When
the report of the commission which was now sitting upon
the que-tioa of education in the army was laid before
them they would be iu a better position to come to a
conclusion with reference to the important topic of mili-
tary promotion. Meantime he should content himself with
the expression of his approval of the measure which the
Government proloted to adopt, as being, to use an crdi-
nary phrase, a step in the right direction. (Hear.)
Mr. S. HERBERT—I am indebted to the house to
so great an extent for the indulgence which, when I
addressed it upon this subject upon previous occasions,
I received at the hands of its members, that I will
endeavour to prove my gratitude for their past kindness
by now trespassing upon their attention for as short a
time as possible. It is, I thick, of importance that
we should this evening begin to take stock of our
agreements and disagreements with respect to the ques-
tion under our notice. My hon. and gallant friend the
member for Norfolk seems to object to a scheme of com-
petitive examination for commissions in the line, and I
concur with him so far as to deem it desirable that we
should wait to see the result of the system of competition
in the case of the Ordnance corps before we give a de-
cided opinion with respect to the expediency of adopting
it in reference to first commissions in the line. There
appears to me, I confess, to be this difficulty with regard
to the establishment of competitive examinations for
those commissions, viz., that the qualifications necessary
to constitute a good officer cannot always be made the
subject of educational test. So far as intellectual quali-
ties are concerned, you can ascertain them by that test ;
but if you admita competitive examination, and no other
test, men may enter the army who have no qualification
beyond what that examination proves them to possess.
confess I rather agree with the view of those who arc
in favour of a competitive examination only, because you
may extend it not only to intellectual, but to moral and
physical qualities. You may ascertain what a man's
strength is with the gloves on or at single stick ; or yeti
may put hint into a field surrounded by four stiff Leices-
tershire fences and Fee how he gets out, of it. (A. laugh.)
These points are not immaterial in the creation of good
officers, though they are not! tests usually applied by ext-
miners. My hon. and gallant friend (Gen. Windham)
has put the case of two candidates for a commission in
the line—the one a generous, liberal, fine fellow, who
has been rather idle with regard to his studies, and the
whose eyes are worn out with
and who is altogether
ruo
etnahfidetir aog
r, etwahhreno:e,
active
ibavoebo
dutiesakdw o rm
o,f a
horseman,
collier's
life. I don't want
however, to substitute the bookworm for the fine fellow,
but to get hold of the fine fellow and to take care that he
knows his duties thoroughly. Under the present sys-
tem you may have the bookworm—the man physically
inefficient, and you constantly have him. As to the fine
fell rt.; I agree in the opinion of Sir C. Napier, who says
there is no officer in the world like the English gentleman
—I don't mean in the sense in which that term is some-
times used, applying only to the landed gentry, but a man
of liberal education, who possesses the advantages which
result from such an education. An hon. and gallant
officer has expressed a fear lest you should establish tso
high a standard ofexathination ; but why have too high
a standard of examination ? I think the danger is the
other way. Standards of examination are not apt to rise.
On the contrary, they have a great tendency to fail, and
if you insist upon men otherwise competent to be officers
passing through an examination for their first commis-
sions danger of the standard
bring I
placeddm't
toothink
do not give any opinion on
( thkigthh. erep any
the subject of competition for entrance into the ordnance
corps. You have, I believe, the same class of men as you
had beiere—neither better nor worse. I know it is not
a popular doctrine that it is of any importance that the
army should be officered by gentlemen, but I hold that
it is so. (Bear.) I will tell you why I entertain that opi-
nion. Our object ought to be to get that class of men
who will make the best officers. Prove to me that pea-
sants make the best officers, and I say "Let ad your
officers be peasants. I think, however, that in dealing
with a question of this kind you ought not to consider
the interests of any class, but your object ought to be to
obtain man who can roost efficiently discharge the duties
they are required to perform. England is a nation
essentially not military with regard to its interior habits
and organisation. Thu habit of military organization is
foreign to its people. As the most complete discipline
and thorough obedience are necessary he the efficiency
of an army, you cannot afford to throw away any ele-
ment which will secure those objacts ; and one of the
main elements of oar army is that the peasants who
compose the-private soldiers have a natural tendency to
toilew the lead of a gentleman by whom they are effi-
cored. That is my only reason for entertaining the opi-
nion I have expressed. You cannot persuade men that,
in other professions, it is a disadvantage to be a gentle-
man, and, indeed, the common sense of mankind leads
to a contrary conclusion. The hon. gentleman opposite
(tlr. Palk) says he does not see how a system of army
education con be carried to any height compatibly with
the system of purchase. I don't see any such difficulty.
Whether a man rises by seniority, aided by purchase,
hether by seniority without purchase, or whether
by selection, I don't understand why you cannot have a
standard of examination which will secure that a man,
however ho t
bas obtained his promotion, is fit to di--
charge the duties of his position. There are one or two
other points upon which I may be allowed to say a few
words. I have heard it said that a core feeling has been
produced in the array by the statements that have been
made by civilians with
respect to the conduct of general
officers commanding in the field, and that the na ye
went for increasing education in the army is regarded
by them as a slur,
think the latter idea is unfounded,
but I also think that the civilians of this country have
judged officers in high command with great untairntes.
(Hear, hear.) The traditions of our youth are farmed
upon the successes of one of the most remarkable men
England over produced, and we are disposed to complain
that every officer sent in cernrnand of an expedition dues
not poi secs the genius of the Duke of Well'ngton. Now,
how many great generals has England produced ? Why,
you may count them on your fingers. Fa, Wellington,ke Cromwell,
Marlberoug,b, Peterborough, if you
and Clive ; but when you go further you find yourselves
in another class, and it cannot be expected that every.
;exhibit
t' in command of an army
should nut only exl.a.bit
" "[laxity, but should possess the experience, at
Wellingten or a Marlborough. `o far, then, we
But I nerietain that the
have judged very unfairly.
army may retort upon civilians, and may say, " Here
we have had a war conducted during three or four years,
ana ydu cannot point out one civilian who has shown
any great aptitude or genitor for directirg the.elt that
opera-
tions of the war." (Hear, hear.) I have always f-
the most important question in connexion with this sub-
ject is the mode of admission to the s'aff. A gallant
officer, who sits near me, baa recommended that we
should copy the French system. I c olfe.ss that I eon
very much afraid of adopting a' y plan which. is merely
a copy of the systems of other countriee, u:rdspec' we of
the peculiar qualities and habits of the British army, and
1 don't believe that the French system of a separate staff