New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-06-10
rar PRESENT CONDITION % an. n'
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IN, 80, ,,sy-rtcrN's UNIFORM con-.
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Nvs ~~ e"' 'S''i I"Spcx, Friday, May s6 1854.
~ ,As rase is good for nothing clsc II
", -, s.mellsh q portion Of the military re-
N".' ns ,,tc Duke OF wellington. Whoever
so"" ,.as during the lifetime OF this much over
90 ,,,a,rsl. will rccecct that II was consd-
.r,a an insat to the British nation 10 sPe"" eye" y
H.relrcn a. OF soldier approaching IN any way u'
,,,,seih,c Iron Duke. This glorious paAe !" now
s,sa and buried after having had the command OF inc
british army, al least virtually for the "s' ,o'V
v,ass. Never was man moro independent 'r "'e,
.,eusihle in the exercise Of command Inc puAo
xss su authority above all suthouues' neither mug
rcr queen daring to contradict him IN proiesslona'
r.,s,r, Well, after enjoying msny year OF those
a.r,. and comforts which usually fall to the lot OF
A.u,, wasi.,rlty. and which SO strongly contrast
-,,a al. ,r.,,e r,yusions generally belonging TO tho
.. ar -s,;ns-Narceon for nstance-thc Iron
ny. R.s ara the command of the British army fell
into other hands. About eighteen months alter his
a..,A the Rrisish army Is called upon TO enter on
smnsisn against the Russians, and before the hrst
r.imept il ready 10 embark il is found that the Iron
puAe has left the army in state entirely unit Tor
active service.
The epahe, in spite of HE generally sound Eng-
hsh sense, had but small and narrow mind in many
r,.ree,s The uniairness with which he habtuiliy
.l,uaea IA the par, his German allies bore in the
decision Of the struggle at Waterloo taking TO him
self all the credit of victory which would have been
defeat but for the timely appearance of Bacher, is
rsllknown. The pettishness with which he stuck to
in tha sh "
irs 10 Ali criticism: .'Thoso abuses and absurdities
made us victorious in Spain and Pcrtugal'-per-
fect,y agrees with his conservative notion, that GER
tain degree Of traditional absurdity and corruption
wss essential to proper working of the 'demon-
"strably best of Constitutions. But while in poll
ties he knew how TO give way upon important points
m critical moments, in military matters he chung all
the more stubbornly to antquated notions aud ira
aitional tom-fooleries There was not one single -
port.nt improvement introduced into the BrItsharmy
during his life time unless it was in the purely tech
ucsl department of the artillery. Here it was simply
impossible that the rapid progress q manufacturing
industry and mechanical science should have been lett
entirely unuo,ced. The consequence is that though
the British army has the best artillery material in ex-
is,enee the organization of that artillery is as clumsy
a. that of the other and that in the dress gen.
ersl armament aud organization of the British forces
there is not single item in which it is not inferior to
any civilized army in Europe.
must again call tie attention of your readers to
the fact that the direction of military affairs is not
eonfded, in other countries, to single branch OF
the administration. There are four departments,
each clsshing with and independent of the other
There is the Secretary of War, mere paymaster
and accountant There is the COMMANDMENT Chief at
the Horse Guards who has the infantry and cavalry
under him. There is the MasterGeneral of the Ord
nance, who commands the Artillery Engineers, and is
supposed TO have the general direction OF the mafertd
Of the army. Then there is the Colonial Secretary,
who spporOns the troops TO the various foreign pos
sessons and regulates the distribution Of warmaterial
to EACH Beside these there is the Commssariat De-
partment and lastly for the troops in India the Com
mander in { hef of the Army in that empire. 1t is
only since the death of Wellington that the absurdty
Of such On arrangement has been publicly alluded to-
the report Of the Parliamentary Committee OF 1857
having been superseded by the Dukes authority. Now
that war has begun its neciency is felt everywhere
but change is deprecated being liable to upset all
possibility of order and regularity in the transaction OF
\ the business.
As an instance Of the confusion created by this sys
tenn mentioned Oh a former occasion, that there are
hardly two articles for which regiment ia not obliged
to apply to different aud independent administrations
The clothing is supplied by the Colonel but the great
coats by the Ordinances the belts and knapsacks by the
Horse Guards; but the firearms again by the Ord
nance On any foreign station military offices, ordnance
Offices storekeePers and commissarat employers are all
less Independent OF each other and RESPONSE
bic 10 distinct and independent boards at home Then
there is the nuisance of the clothing cOlOnels Every
regiment has ttular colonel general officer, whose
duty is to pocket certain government allowance for
clothing his regiment, and to spend portion only for
the purpose The balance Is considered as his wages
for the trouble
There is the sale of commissions which puts all the
higher posts in the army at the almost exclusive dspo
sal of the arstocracy. After few years service in
the capacity of lieutenant captain, and MAJOR, an OH
Ger is entitled the first vacancy occurring, to buy
up the rank which becomes vacant unless there
should be an officer of the same rank and OF older
stabding inclined to anticipate Inn. The consequence
is, that man with ready money can advance very
rapidly as many Of his seniors have not the means TO
buy the vacancy soon as 1t occurs Ii clear That
such system greatly narr0ws the class OF useful men
from which the corps Of officers is recruited, and the
advancement active employment OF general oiicers
being subject almost exclusively t. seniority or arsto
cratic connection, the circle from which these are
drawn must necessarily exclude large of talent
and knowledge from the higher commands IL ia, NO
doubt attributable to this system chiefly that the mass
of British officers lamentably deficient III the
general and more theoretical branches of military
science.
The number Of ofcersis disproportonately large for
that of the men, Gold lace aud epaulettes abound in
British reeim, Mt to an extent unknown anywhere
else. Consequently, the officers have nothing todo
ana tner tsPFu de corps haru. admitting vi IN! uosicc
Of study, they pass their time in all sorts of extrava
CANT usements trusting that if comes TO fight
tive bravery and Her Maesr's regulations will be
quite sufficient to carry them through all difficulties.
Yet when the Chobham camp was formed, th@help-
lessness Of very many of the officers conspicuous
enough to any body who could judge little better of
the maneuyers than the poor enthusiastic penny a
liners who with true cockney spirit admired everything
Ia the strange spectacle which they saw for the first
tine Of their lives.
The drill regulations and system Of exercise are OF
the most old fashioned character The maneuverrng