Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1895-10-10
PRECEDENT SET ASIDE,
ptRITAIN's MILITARY CHIEF NOT
or ROYAL STRAIN.
United states Parallels - Supposs
There wns Conaiet OF Author
ity--PossibIe Contingencies

Inc IN Otion Oi NiSCOunt
Wolsele 10 tn post of Command
er-in-C ief f tie British army
will surpris 70 one, S VS. the San
FranciscD Billet in one of its
able descript ye articles. lie was
for some ye rs Adjutant General,
Chief of st fl and Field Marshal;
he stood in the direct line of pre-
motion. II TIE NJ istry resolved
TO pass over the Dlke # Con-
naught and Lord Roberts, they
had no alternative but to choose
Wolseley; ther' IS no soldier in
the army whrse fitness can com-
pare with his. He HIS never had
a chance of show ng whether he
should be cl ssed among great
commandcrs; his operations in
Ashantee and Canada were mere
skirmishes, aud his campaign in
Egypt was barren of results. He
Is 80 years old. and will never
again he p aced in command of
an army. Still he has shown
high military qualities, and will
be the right man in the right
place at the head of the War
Office.
Some of the papers speak of
MIN as an Irishman. He was
certainly born near Dublin, but
he comes of an old English fami-
ly, whose head is the Sir Charles
Wolseley who married Miss
Sharon The family estates are
IN Yorkshire and Statfordshire,
and Garnet Wolselev's present
title Is Niscount Woiseley of
Wolseley in Statiordshire. Though
he has commanded many import
ant expeditions, and occupied
high positions Tor quarter of a
century, he has never had an OPP
portunity of accumulating money,
and is SO needy that the honor
arium he receives from Astor for
his contributions to the Pail Mall
Magazine are understood to be
very welcome.
HIS appointment revives the
questions which were raised when
General Harding was appointed
Commander-in- Chief nearly half
"A century ago. The Duke of
Wellington always held that the
command of the army should be
entrusted t. a member of the roy
al family, for the secret reason
shat it WAS best for the sovereign
to have an officer in that position
npon whose personal loyalty she
could rely. Queen Victoria evl.
IDENTITY thinks II better to disre-
gard this precautlon rather than
risk the odium which would follow
the appointment OF her son, the
Duke of Connaught. She is pro-
badly wise.
Consideration of the question
will remind Americans of tn
memorable conflict between Pres
ident johnson on one side ant
Grant and Stanton on the other
The constitution declares tn
President to be Commander-in
Chief, which imposes on the arm.
the duty of obeying his orders
But il was held in 1865 and 1866
that an officer in the field or il
garrison could not take order
from the President direct. The,
must come to him through tn,
regular channel of his depal tmen
commander or the Commander
iu-Chief, who took his order
from the Secretary Of War. Ii
the reconstruct conf ct, arm,
officers refused to obey order
which did not came from Genera
Grant or from Secretary Stanton
Thus, as these officers refused u
resign the Presidents authorit'
was nuliitied.
It is evident that if civil wa
broke out in England, the Colo
uels of regiments would be gov
armed by their own inclinations
as was the case in the imbrogli
which preceded the accession c
Anne. If the CommaAder-ir
Chief issued one set of orders
while some insurgent authorit
claiming to be de facto Govern
ment issued "a conflicting set, tn
ield cflicers would clio, Sc whic
they would obey. 1t is easy t
fancy conflict f authority b'
tween Lord Wolseley, acting q