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

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVEN ANG JULY 29, ,`e,7

source of supply of men for the army. Connected with
this was the question of national defence and other con-
aiderations of great importance. If we were to go on
as we had hitherto done we must always be too late—
for this reason, that the Government on an emergency
had to come down to the house to ask for money to get
men, when the men ought to be ready to their bands.
They never asked for money until they were in pressing
need of the men. No doubt there were many more dif-
ficulties in this subject, and many more things to be
considered than appeared at first sight. For instance,
there was the number of the militia to be taken into
consideration, the manner in which it was to be raised,
and its connexion with the army—whether it should be
in immediate connexion or, as at present, in a state of
semi-antagonism. Then, too, there was the question of
the staff, of mittary education generally, and, above all,
of the relation which ought to exist between the duties
of the Minister at War and the Commander-in-Chief.
The noble lord at the head of the Government, of all
men in the empire, was by his experience, his abilities,
and his popularity best fitted to carry out some rational
system of military organisation, and if he would under-
take and complete that task he would deserve the grati-
tude of the country. (Hear, hear.)
Sir W. WILLIAMS could assure the gallant general
the member for Westminster that he was under a misap-
prehension in supposing that there was any favouritism
shown in the examinations for commissions by which unfit
persons were admitted into the service. The proportion
of those who came forward and were rejected was between
one-fourth and one-third of the whole number of candi-
dates. He had sent a cousin of his down to Sandhurst
not very long ago to be examined fora commission, and,
without wishing any favouritism to be shown to him, he
wrote to Sir Harry Jones, asking him to give him that
encouragement which a youth would stand in need of at
such a time. In the evening, however, he had the morti-
fication of getting a letter to tell him that his cousin had
been rejected. He prepared himself again, and went up
for re examination ; but, more through fear, probably,
than want of attainments, he again failed. He had had
under his command officers who had passed through
Woolwich, and those who, owing to the exigencies of
the service had been admitted without going that institu-
tier, and, though the zeal and good conduct of these
latter had been above all praise, yet, owing to the want
of a military training, they were not equal to those who
had passed through Woolwich. Those. who had charge
of Woolwich laboured under the mistake of bringing the
pupils in at too advanced an age, which had the effect of
making most of the officers in the scientific corps old men
before they could attain high command. He was as
strong an advocate of competitive examination in the line
and in the two scientific corps as any one ; but he hoped
that the military authorities would continue to retain the
right of nomination. It would be a very dangerous ex-
periment for them to relinquish that right. He wished,
too, to see a real bona fide staff corps established. When
addressing the house ou a former occasion on this sub-
ject he bad expressed his regret at the abolition of the
old corps of draughtsmen and surveyors, by which stop
the army had been deprived of that which was necessary
for its efficiency, and he hoped to see the day when those
corps would be revived. The French had a beautiful
staff corps, and their system ought to. be adopted by us.
The questions of promotion by purchase and military
education were very intimately connected. Without pur-
chase there would be favouritism and affection. He had
seen more regiments of the line than most officers, and
he had always remarked in what an extraordinary
manner the system of purchase kept up the youthfulness
of these regiments. In the scientific corps, where there
was no purchase, the case was different. At 40 years of
age he himself was only a second captain. No doubt,
under the purchase system, there was a certain amount
of vexation experienced when one man purchased over
another ; but that was nothing to the heartburning which
was occasioned when an officer was put over another
on account of some pretended superiority of talent or in-
tellectual attainments. During the debate of the previ-
ous evening the right hon. gentleman the President of
the Board of Control had spoken of the want of that
proper communication between the officer and the Sepoy
which perhaps had occasioned a great deal of the misery
we now deplored, and had asked bow that evil could
be remedied. The remedy which he (Sir W. Williams)
would recommend woule be not to give a single step of
rank In any native regiment without an ex sminaiion,
not to give a lieutenancy to an ensign until he bad
made considerable progress in the native language, an i
to give no man his company until be was a perfec;,
master of the Hindostanee. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. PALK had hoped the gallant general would
have taken a broader view of the subject, that ho
would have given! the house the benefit of his great
experience and practical knowledge, that he would
have shown the evil of the present system of pro-
motion both in the staff and in the line, and that he
would have offered some suggestions for improving the
organization of the army. He had expected the gallant
general to have instanced the case of other professions,
and to have shown that in them every one had to
undergo a competitive examination at college or else-
where.
He had expected him to have drawn from these
premises the fact that men of vast knowledge and great
acquirements who bad attained the highest and proudest
positions in the State had risen from the humbler classes,
affording in their own persons a proof that education
would elicit the best attributes of man, and that it was
not to birth alone that we cool I trust for a due per-
formance of the duties that were required of 12F. The
gallant general might have instanced the case of our own
army, essentially aristocratic—much morn so than any
army on the continent—in which few men had risen
from the ranks to high positions. He had thought that
the gallant officer would have referred to the ga lautry
of our officers—the steadiness and forbearances in times
of difficulty of our men, and that he would have shown
that that was owing to the aristocratic element which so
strongly impregnated our armies, and which sent out
young men proud of their name, of their family, and of
their country, to gain fresh honours and add new laurels
to our fame. He had thought that the gallant general
might have gone on and have proposed, without bringing
the two classes into collision, a test of education which.
should insure to all who passed an examination a com-
mission in the army ; and that he might have said that,
great and glorious as the deeds of our army bad been,
the time had come when more liberal ideas were preva-
lent, and when it was essential for the benefit of the
country that the organization of the army should be im-
proved by more comprehensive and extended views. The
first step towards such improvement would be to sh >w
to young men that energy and talent would insure advanc e
ment, and that, if they did their duty well and gallaatly and
at the same time acquired those scientific attainments
which were essential to their position, whether they had the
good luck to be the friends of the Government or not,
their talent and energy would be recognised, and their
promotion would be as certain as if they were nephews
of the Secretary of State for War. At present such un-
fortunately was not the case, as too many instances I
would prove. He held in his hand, for example, a letter
signed by a gallant officer who had entered the army
many years ago, and whose services, perhaps, had been
long forgotten. That officer served years in the artillery,
' and passed through all the courses of dr;lt and practical
instruction at Woolwich several times. In the spring of
1825 he accepted the offer of the Duke of York to volun-
teer into the line, on the promise that everything that
could properly be done for the advancement of those
who so volunteered should be done. He went through a
long period of service. In 1331 he was appointed by
Lord Clare as assistant and secretary to the mission pro-
ceeding to Scinde. Having been upwards of 16 years a
subaltern he purchased his rank as captain, and at
length, having embarked all his fortune in the service,
and when it was too late to think of devoting himself to
any other profession, be was compelled, for the sake of
his family, to self his commission. He then addressed a
letter to Lord Pannaure, from whom he received the
following reply :--

" War-office, June 24.
"Sir,—l am directed by Lord Panmure to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter, containing a statement of your
past services, which he has perused with great interest ;
aed in reply I am directel to state that, while Lord Pal-
mure most sincerely sympathises with you in your misfor-
tunes, his lordship deeply regrets it is not in his power to
remedy complaints of such long standing, or to reverse acts
which you have characterised in such strong language.
"I have the honour to be, &c.,
" J. CROO3IES, Assistant-Secretary."
In that instance, therefore, because the complaints were
of long standing, there was no remedy for that gallant
officer. But the system which existed then existed still,
and he would submit to the house another instance which
happened very recently. It was the case of an officer
who during the last war, possessing high military attain
rnente, and being a first rate linguist, distinguished him-
self in tha field, but having no ta litary interest, at las',
with the greatest difficulty, succeozejed in obtaining a
staff appointment, and proving himself so highly effi-
eient in organisation and detail was intrusted with a
high responsibility, and to the command of a brigade,
which he performed with the greatest credit, winning
the universal approbation of those who bore witness t
the extreme judgment and ability he displayed, and for
which he receive I the highest testimonials. That officer
was at this moment a subaltern in the army. He was
brought up for the service, for which he was speaial I
educated ; he was a young man of great ability, and
was rather an ex'raordinacy linguist, for he spoke
French, Spani-b, German, Italian, Turkish, and Russiae
wi h a certain knowledge of Arabic, modern Greek, and
Persian. After the fire at Varna be was sent to Bulgaria
to collect stores for the commissariat, and in consequence
of his knowledge of the language and of his zeal, he, at a
time when the army was in the greatest difficulties, sent
down every day 30 waggon-loads of forage. He (Mr.
Palk) was not permitted to go very much into the case,
for the officer of whom he was speaking would be very
much shocked if hie name or services were made public,
but he was satisfiel no older ever distinguished hiei,elt
more fer personal gall entry than this young man. Gee.
Pennefather, in a teetenonial to which he was permitted
to refer, spoke highly of his services in connection with
the Italian Legi ,n ; and yet, in spite of the services he
had rendered in the Crimea, in spite of the approbation
expressed with regard to hie conduct, this raing
officer was at the present moment doing duty as a
subaltern. He had been educated for the army, aa,
Skilled in all the various languages which a soldier
might require to know, had distinguished himself its
h as any matt in the service, but he had neither po•
litical nor family interest, and it was to be feared that.
like the gentleman whose case had previou ly betnre-
s t
at
th th©
of W
Lord ar o P
re-
ferred to, after faithfully serving his
Queen
auetenaendencdouonf t
days
he mightsh receive c
laterei ve froma ffi
anotunuerth e was f this reason that he (Mr. Palk)-, as e
who had the
honour of holding a commission in her Majesty's ser-
vice, and as an independent member of this house, wished
to ask whether the army was in such a satisfactory
state as would induce young men of talent and energy
to seekfor that advancement in it which, without inte-
rest, seemed denied to them ? And yet this country re-
• quire din the ?mu of the highest talent. It would
cf officers from the small circle of
no I,Ligtr do to sele