The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-04-20
BABY WARRIORS.
High Military and Naval Honors Borne
 by Infants.


 by Infants.
 It is often asserted nowadays that our naval and military leaders are too old for their work, that we want young CT men to direct our fleets and armies, yet our naval officers commence their professional careers at twelve years of age and our army officers when very little older, says London Globe. A boy cannot very well commence studying the difficult art of war before he is twelve. much as he has to learn; but our forefathers evidently thought other wise. for it is on record that in the eighteenth century babies of three were frequently appointed lietenants in the army; one officer, in fact, in 1773 was given 8 commission on the day he was born, and once upon a time there was a lord high admiral of only five years of age. These infantine warriors, how ever, were not asked to go to war; the only arms they knew of were those of their nurses In course of time some of them joined their ships or regiments, but they, or their parents for them. generally took good care to draw their pay regularly from the day they were given. The military infants were regular officers in his or her majesty's s army, their names appeared in the regimental lists, they were entitled to wear uniform and carry a sword, etc., and if any common soldier knew that they held commissions it was his duty to salute them. We have no authentic record of such a ceremony taking place, | but it is very probable that they were saluted-after their nurses.
 I But the day of the baby warrior is | past. There are too many reformers looking for something to reform, too many newspapers willing and anxious to expose anything that savors of job bery, for babies one day old to get com missions in the army unless, of course l the recipient of the commission happens to be scion of royalty. as in the case of the czarewitch, who was appointed colonel of more than one Russian yegi. nent long before he had learned tc suck his thumb Trus, we have an ad. miral only twelve months old-the in. Ifant Marquess of Donegal, to wit. here ditary lord high admiral of Lougl I Neagb. but the office carries with fl neither emolunents nor duties. It is an obsolete naval command, which I dates from the time of ueen Elizabeth Il when it was necessary to maintain 2 | naval force on the tough to keep thu 1 turbulent Irishmen of Tyrone, Derry Armagh and Antrim in subjection. A baby warrior who was practically borr an officer and eventually became General Sir William c. Eustace, died 1T February, 1855. He was born in Dub | lin, his father, General Eustaec. being at the time commander Of the force. in Ireland. This youngster was gazet. ted to a commission a few hours aftel his birth. Sir William probably hold. the record as a young officer. unless W, include the case of Molly Lepel, who re ceived comets commission as soon a. she was born, and received pay al such many years after she was mait Iof honor, all of which is vouched for il the "Ieters' of Horace Walpole. Tn | commission was given to her as a forn of pension for her parents.
 Of baby officers Of from one to fiv years there have been several Tn 168 the twelve months old son of tn, famous Colonel Piercy Kirke, 0 "Kirkefs Lambs, was appointed ensign in the Duchess of York's Regiment, ant four years later George Lord Ettricls the son and her heir of the Earl 0 Dumbarton, was gipen commission a captain in the Royal Regiment of Foo i by James II. Lord Ettrick at the tim was eighteen months old. It should b mentioned that the majority of thes commissions were intended as reward for distinguished service by tn fathers or the near relation of tn children, the pay of the latter naturall going to the former. There was
 comet in the Scots Guards about I'll named Agnew, only three years of age and the granting of these child com mission continued down to the eigh teenth century. Major General ' Morin, who died in January, 1s39,s a Trichinopoly, sixty-five years ole served according to his biographers the King and the Honorable East Indi Company for sixty years. Anothe baby officer who became famou fighting man was Field Marshal Si John Foster Fitzgerald, but man others were placed on half pay an never saw shot fired in anger in thei lives.
 The age at which these youngster were given commissions, however, Ina but little influence upon their pro motion to the higher ranks of the arm, Promotion, until Cardwell and GlaG stone abolished the purchase of con missions, in nearly all cases went b cash. In these good old days-or ba old days. if the reader prefers it. colonels of seventeen and eighteen wel very plentiful. In 17s4 General Crai, writing rom the Low Countrie mentions that "out of the fifteen reg ments of cavalry and twenty-six of fl fantry which we have here, twenty-or are literally commended by boys;' ar during the Peninsular war young pull lie school boys went straight from the class rooms as lieutenants or captain to take charge Of companies of o
 seasoned soldiers. Wellington himse was lieutenant colonel at twenty-fou a rank seldom reached nowadays muc