The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-21
THE BRITISH ARMY.
The Age, Strength, Height and Con-
duet of Her Maiesty's Troops.

London Mail.
Lord o.seley recently remarked that we
are always lighting somebody.
Subject to these small rIppleS on the
peaceful surface of life, the military ardor
of the British people seems to be satisfied
with an army considerably below quarter
of q million men. The effective strength
of the regular British army on Dec. l last
according to the annual returns) was III,
5S7. During eight months OF the year 1896
the effective strength was less than that,
and the highest aggregate OF all arms was
in February-222,S o2 We have 1854 officers
(the number sometimes reaches 1900 to
1s5, 24S rank and file and 14,1S6 sergeants.
The cavalry is 1854; royal artillery, of all
arms, S7,3O7; royal engineers, S3S; foot
guards, $3.50; line infantry, 1902; colonial
corps, 5,2lS; army service, 35l7; army ord
nance, 1,21O; medical staff, 1892 army pay,
$50. These figures show the average
strength
We keep abroad, on the average, about
half that fighting force-a trifie less than
half the officers and a trifie more than half
800 officers, while Scotland gets only 3452
men and 14S officers. All the colonies and
Egypt have on the average only little
over one-third more than n Ireland-that is to
say, 40 men and 1877 officers. India
takes almost as many of our regular troops
as we keep in England, Wales and the
ments being rs, 450 and 76 937. The army is
steadily increasing in average strength: 1t
was larger last year than for any year since
1876. In 1886 it reached the 100000, and now
it has passed 200 900.
Poets have associated love and war. In
the spring the young mans Fancy nghtly
turns to thoughts of love, and IN January
and February the recruits for the army
come forward in largest numbers. Over
q, 600 joined the cOlors at home last year
Lord Roberts recently bore emphatic teS-
timony to the increase of sobriety and good
conduct among the army in India The re-
turns of the number of men tried by court
martial throughout the whole army tells
the same good story. Last year the men
court -nnartialed We're SO69; in 1898 the num-
Der was almost 10000; in 1886 1t was over
1900, and before 1881 the total for some
years exceeded 1900 and sometimes IL, 600.
The men returned drunk while on duty
has fallen from 1861 in 1881 to COS last year,
some diminuation being observable every
year. The number of men with good con-
duct badges now exceeds 100000; between
1888 and 1887 it did not exceed 10000.
The army now contains a much larger
number OF young men, $50 per 900 are now
aged between twenty and twenty-five years,
as against the proportion of 356 in 1878; and
while there were SO per Loo over forty years
of age in 1878 the proportion now has dwin-
died down to per 1,0CO But, while the
men are younger, the tendency is to get
them also of smaller stature, except for the
very. tall. That is, we have the same pro
portion of men over five feet ten inches,
but in twenty years we have doubled the
proportion in little men-those under five
feet five inches.
1860 Irish. 1e,2OS Scotch and 159,5OO English.
But the Irish appear to have been with
drawing from the army gradually, as they
numbered in 1878 over IS, 600. while the Scots
have been increasing. For this fact we
imagine the principal reason must be sought
in the bleeding of Ireland by emigration
by far the largest proportion of Irish emil
grants are strong, young men from the cot
tiers homes.
Finally, our army has over $1,000 nom
commissioned officers and men whose chest
measurement exceeds thirty-eight inches.
and more than II coo men whose stature is
at least five feet eleven inches.