Star.
London, England, 1821-12-01 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

THE LATE PROMOTIONS.
The Cowrie of Tuesday last contains a list of 25 Promotions
in one day, from the half-pay to the full-pay of the Army, wiz.
One Lieutenant-Colonel, 19 Lieutenants, and three Assistant.
Surgeons. By this promotion, which is the most extensive of
the kind since the peace, 23 Officers are brought from inactive
to active service, highly gratifying to themselves, and with a
saving to the country of £lBO7 a-year of half-pay.
In the same Gazette eight young Gentlemen are appointed to
be Ensigns in the Army, without purchase. If, instead of this,l
eight Ensigns had been brought from the half-pay, an addltional
sum of £438 would have been saved to the country.
It appears that, between the 25th January, 1816, and tin
25th January,lB2l, the promotions in the regimental rank bra I
been as follow : 1105 first Commissions have been granted, 7611
Cornets and Ensigns have been promoted to be Lieutenants,
474 Lieutenants to be Captains, 149 Captains to be Majors, and
56 Majors to be Lieutenant-Colonels, making in all 2553 pro-
motions from Ensigns to Lieutenant-Cisloncis.
During the same period 303 Officers have been brought from
the half to the full-pay upon vacancies in the Army, and not
by exchange, viz. 54 Ensigns, 157 Lieutenants, 48 Captains, 11
Majors, and 33 lieutenant. Colonels.
The number of Officers of each rank, from Ensign to Lieute-
nant-Colonel, during this period, was 7192 exclusive of 130 Ad-
jutants, some of whom are Lieutenants and some Ensigns, making
a total of 7322 Officers. The number of 7322 Officers on half-
pay, and only 503 brought from it to full-pay in a period of five
years, shewa a great contrast, being only one in every twenty-1
four from the half to the full-pay, and one from the half-pay to
every eight promotions and a ball.
If the 2553 Officers had been all brought from the half-pay,
there would have beep an annual saving of half-pay to the
amount of £214,264, viz. for 1329 Officers who purchased their
Commissions, £114,245; and for 1224 Offisers who were pro-
moted without purchase, £100,019 ; which annuities, at twelve
years' purchase, the value calculated by Lord PALYZISTON, will
amount to £2,571,170! and this is the actual value of all the
half-pay of the promotions of these ranks in five years : th; suns
of £1,200,208, the value of the half-pay that might have been
saved to the country, by bringing the 1224 Officers, who were
promoted without purchase, from the half to the full-pay. The
actual charge to the nation, therefore, for this one branch of pa-
tronage of the Ministers amounts to £640,041 each sea since
r
the peace !—a sum which must strike every person as deserving
the most serious attention.
While, however, the country bas beenrtnit to so enormous a
charge, in justice to the Ministers and the Commander-in-Chief,
it ought to be stated, that by the bringing from the half to the
full-pay the 505 Officers, annuities of £29,081 have been saved,
which at twelve years' purchase would amount to £348,977.

A division of the Scotch Fusileers Is ordered front Newcastle-
upon-Tyne to Chester, to Like the garrison duty.
Sunday, a division of the 224 Foot arrived at Waterford, and
on Monday proceeded for Fermoy.
The Field Officers of the 79th Regiment, stationed In Lime-
rick garrison, have received the commission of the peace foe the
county at large.
Tuesday, a man of the name of Broothonee was brought
before the Magistrates at the Exchange, Leicester, for not re-
turning to the constable of St. Nicholas, in that bOrougth, o
the
a list
of all persons between the age of 18 and 45, pursuant
42d Geo. II I. c. 90. thereby incurring a penalty not exceeding
£5. In consequence of the contrition and extreme poverty of
the man, the clerk to the Lieutenancy did not press conviction.