New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-01-30


Dso-,es 70 the rank and file may be described
~ an honorary character and are usually
'-.orvas for riding masters. bandmasters. etc,
- are about to leave the army, and who are
,.ns enabled to retire into private life with the
s-.s,ie,e and status Of heutenancy. The re-
~, ~ all this is that the English officer is by
,,-,h and education almost invariably a gentle
which IS far from being the case with any
c0,,,nertal army: and to such an extent is thu
.,,-,t ~ caste carried in the British army that
.,., the sons Of immensely wealthy London
.,onseepers have been forced to get transferred
.-0r one regiment to another on account Of the
...,oc,s,, 70 which they were subjected.
los, this spirit 81 caste should appear to
american readers mere silly prejudice. it may
;. stated that no one was more firm in
.,s conviction that the officers Of the army
.,ou,d be recruited exclusively from the upper
.,asses q society than Fied-Marsha Won
uol,ke who declared. when Gladstone abolished
y 1870 The system II obtaining commissions in
,he army by means Of purchase. that England
hss given up all that remained good in her
military establi shment"
HOW COMMISSIONS ARE OBTAINED
Commissions in the British Army nowadays
~. obtained in four different manncrs-first
through the royal military colleges OF Sandhurst
and Woolwich second. through the militia;
third through the university, and fourth.
through service in the ranks. Admission TO the
Royal Military College at Sandhurst is granted
10 the successful candidates in an open com
pe,tve examination in ordinary subjects, and
70 limited number Of s0-called queens
Cadets" who are generally the sons Of officers
e,-roval pages Of honor or lads possessed OF
Court influence on passing mere qualifying
s1aminat0n on tho same lines AT the end OF
the course Of instruction. which extends over
eighteen months the cadets required to pass
qualifying examination in purely military sub
,ec,s before being gazetted 10 a commission in
the army.
With regard 10 those who enter the army
through the militia. they have first TO pass
qualifying examination in order 10 get COM
mission in the latter then to serve two annual
trainings with their regiments. and finally TO
undergo a competitive military examination
among themselves. those who are successful re-
csiving their transfer officers TO the regular
Army.
So far as the third method Of becoming an officer
IN the army IS cOncerned-namely, through the
u iverslty--it is necessary that The candidate
should lie either graduate Of one Of the British
or Irish universities. or that he should have
passed certain intermediate examinations Of the
university TO which he belongs In case Of the
vacancies being greater in number than the
candidates. there are no additional examina-
tons to pass. while IT, on the contrary. the num-
Der OF the candidates exceeds that Of the COM
missions the distribution Of the latter is decided
by means Of competitive examination. Uni
versity candidates for commissions in the army
aye moreover. required to produce certificates
o. proficiency in officers drill. either from the
militia or volunteer forces.
These who obtain commissions from the ranks
must be n0n-commissioned officers who have
attained the rank Of sergeant. under twentysix
years Of age unmarried. and must possess a
frst-class certificate Of education. under the
army schoo. regulations. unless they are recon-
nenoed for distinguished service III the field. OF
course. this does not apply to those riding
masters tandmasters. etc. who receive the
honorary rank Il lieutenant on their retirement.
ADMISSION TO WOOLWICH
Admission to the Royal Military Academy Of
Wocwich. through which. stated above, com
missions IL the artillery and engineers can alone
b. secured is ~ means Of open competition on
the part u candidates between the ages o.
sixteen and ghteen. This does not mean that
every cadet a, Woolwch is destined necessarily
for one " the other If these branches Of the
Service. But they have their choice Of commits
sions as officers Of sappers or gunners when
they are graduated. and. inasmuch as the pay
In these Two corps is considerably higher than
In other branches Of the army. there are few
men who % not take advantage Of the oppor-
tunlty thus offered.
Familiarity known throughout the service as
te Shop" Woowich may be described as the