The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-27 00:00:00

ARMY DISCIPLINE.

The general order of the Commander-in-Chief, which was
the subject of some observati •ns in our paper of yesterday,
has called attention to the important fact that the army is
not in that state of discipline in which it ought always to be
maintained. Whatever may be the cause, the Duke of Wel-
lington has testified to the existence of a laxity and want of
subordination which must greatly mar the efficiency of those
regiments that are not kept under proper control. he Com-
mander-in-Chief, somewhat strangely attributes the admitted
evil to the use among the officers of cheroots and cigars.
We can see so necessary connexion between the practice of
smoking and the habit of disobeying a superior rank; nor
do we think that an occasional indulgence in gymnastic ex-
ercises at proper seasons would incapacitate any one from
fulfilling the duties of a soldier either in 'peace or war.
We regard as utterly frivolous the recommendations
contained in the general order of the Duke of Wellington,
who has avowed his knowledge of the existence of a great
evil, and has followed up his avowal by a few trivial remarks
on the impropriety of boxing and the intoxicating influence
of smoke. It would have been more worthy of his illustrious
name to have endeavoured, by the wisdom which age and
experience should have brought, to suggest some method of
remedying the defects of a service to which he has brought
so much lustre and renown. Mess- room quarrels, ending oc-
casionally in a court-martial, and petty persecutions on the
part of a colonel towards the officers under his command, are
simply disreputable in regiments remaining in barracks at
home, but such occurrences among troops on actual service
abroad would be dangerous to our national interests. We
have unfortunately had too many instances of the
evils arising from the bad understanding between officers
who should have been acting together for the benefit
of the cause in which they were mutually employed. Dis-
graceful and disastrous defeats have frequently been the con-
sequence of a disunion, which the tact of an able commander
would have either prevented or healed. It is painful as well
as humiliating to recur to the too celebrated retreat from
Caubul, but it is notorious that those in command of the Bri-
tish forces were so incompetent to the high trust reposed in
them, that there was no unity among the officers, whose
efforts, until the final calamity occurred, were paralyzed by
internal disputes. The long continuance of the peace of
Europe has doubtless had its effect in allowing men of ordi-
nary, or of no talent, to purchase their way up to a station
they are unfit to hold. During the war the chances of battle
gave opportunities for the display of merit which it was
impossible not to recognise and reward. The military pro-
fession was not then adopted in the same spirit which it
has been since entered by many, who, we believe, without
intending any reflection on their courage, would avoid
very active service as a " bore" which they would not be
disposed to tolerate. No one would think of disputing the
general bravery of the British officers, but that quality is
not guaranteed by their having the money to purchase their
rank, and even if it were, it is obvious that bravery alone is
not the only requisite for command. Courage without dis-
cretion, tact, and experience, may be sometimes a disadvan-
tage to a military chief, and cause him to expose his troops
to dangers which must in prudence have been avoided, if
they had been foreseen. The intelligence that has recently
arrived of the disasters which have happened to the British
troops in New Zealand, under the command of Colonel Des-
pard, shows but too clearly the fatal result of a want of
foresight and tact on the part of a leader whose courage it is
not possible to dispute. He had a sufficient number of
troops to have achieved a victory if he had only been
able to decide on the best means of employing them,
and, by overlooking, until too late, the advantages
of a position from which he ought to have made his
attack, he suffered an ignoble defeat, attended with a fright-
ful loss. We do not instance Colonel Despard as a person
peculiarly unfit for the important post he occupies, for we fear
that under the present system of military promotion, there
are many holding the rank of colonel, who would not have
succeeded better than himself in the discharge of the duty
that devolved upon him. Our objection is to the practice
which places our armies, our national interests, our honour,
at the mercy of those who may, by their incompetency, turn
all the elements for brilliant success into actual disaster and
disgrace. The system of purchase has been defended on the
ground that it introduces into the army men of rank and wealth,
and prevents the service from being sought after with merce-
nary views—an argument that would hold good if com-
manders, like poets, were born, not made, or if a certrin
amount of wealth would invest its possessor with the quali-
ties of a military leader. It is true that the price of a com-
mission is settled by regulation, and wealth is therefore only
the standard of merit up to a certain sum; which every
purchaser is compelled solemnly to declare that he has not
exceeded in buying his commission. It is, however, noto-
rious, that nearly twice the stipulated value is usually paid,
but the pledge is exacted all the same. The system of pro-
motion by purchase is thus about as conducive to the honours
as it .is calculated to secure the efficiency of the officers of
the army. They enter upon ii..false position by a false oath,
and, commencing by an act discreditable to themselves, too
frequently end by involving the service in a disgrace, which
is felt to be reflected on the whole body when any portion of
it is subjected to an inglorious reverse.—Tinies.
id

DRURY-LANE TIIEATRE.—The effect produced by
the splendid dancing of Mademoiselle Flora Fabbri, in the
new ballet of The Devil to Pay, begins to be felt in all
theatricals, and also in all fashionable cireles. Nothing at
all to be compared to her has been for a long time produced
in this country ; and her wonderful performance, added to the
delightful opera of Maritatia, by Mr. Wallace, was the
means of again filling this house up to the very ceiling last

evening.
SHAREBRoKERs' ASSOCIATION.—We understand
that there were upwards of two hundred applicants for the
situation of secretary to the Liverpool Stock Exchange
which has just been filled up. The successful candidate is, we
believe, Mr. Scriviner, the manager of the British Iron Works
at- Ruabon, and author of a valuable statistical work con-
nected with the iron trade. The salary is 8001. per finnan
—Liverpool Courier.