Weekly Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1853-1861, 1855-06-14
The British Armv.

The last number Of the Edinburgh ReUielC
undertakes to enumerate the most obvious
defects under which the military system Of
Great Britain labors.
L. The first cause Of inelficieney in the ar
my, in the opinion of the reviewer, is the na-
ture of the authority by which it exists. 1t is
governed by the House of Commons by an
NAL laws; the Mutiny act which prevents
seamen, soldiers and marines from being re-
leased from their engagements, and the vote
for supplies must be lassed each gear. A
body Of six hundred and fifty members Of
Parliament are commanders Of the army, and
-they change; modify and rctFench as they
please. The English jealousy of their civil
liberties, unwisely shackles the executive in
military expenditure.
2. The second cause of weakness springs
from administering the affairs Of the army by
FIVE or six different departments, each indie
pendent of the other. A proper subdivision
of labor is both necessary and reasonable.
But, says the reviewer when, as was re-
Gently the case in this country, each depart
ment finds itself free to take its own course
when the Treasury could refuse or grant its
sanction to all expenditure, according to the
humor in which the chief clerks happened to
be; when only the Commander-in-Ch Chief
could move infantry and cavalry, only the
Master General move artillery and engineers;
when on the Secretary -at-WaT devolved the
duty of providing adequate medical and other
supplies and to the Minister-a.-War some
ill-defned right appertaining OF saying when
how, and in what part Of the world troops
were to operate when colOnels of regiments
clothed and accoutered their men, and made
n profit out Of the Job, while the Board oI
Ordnance furnished great coats and arms
when the balance amongst these several au-
thorities was 80 nicely hung that a fit of re.
celebration on the part Of one would paralyst
the activity of all the rest in such a oondi
ton of things as this, it is very little to b
wondered at, if machine which could JUS
manage to rub on heavily and slowly in time
of peace, should, when war made It's demanC
for rapid action, prove wholly unmanagea
bic.
3. The third cause assigred is. that ther
is nothing in the army to develop the intel
lect or stimulate the industry Of its members
Promotion comes by purchase, interest o
seniority
4. Neither officers nor men in time o
peace, are properly drilled in the variou
duties of their profession. The operation
of a campaign should be enacted at hom
s. Regiments are offieered by young me
who buy their position the carieature OF a
examination to which they are snbjecte
goes for nothing. By the time they hay
been in service long enough TO learn some
thing, they get Married and sell out to Other
az incompetent as they we've when the
began.
The following is the description given b
the Duke of WELLINGTON of the soldiers {
the Peninsular war:
The Duke was opposed to lGomotin
from the ranks Of an army which consisted
according to another of his aphorisms,
the very scum Of the earth - which W:
kept to its duty by discipline harsh eve
to cruelty wherein comrades slept two ia
bed which could with difficulty supply
sufficient number Of accountants to furnis
pay-seEgeants Of companies; where mo-
than one-half Of the non-commissioned of
GERS could not put two letters together; whic
lived like pigs in and out Of barracks, an
considered drunkenness as the most exquisi
of human enjoyments."