"The Commander of the Forces requests to have returns of the several
men missing from their regiments in the march of the 10th instant.
It is reported to the Commander of the Forces that the enemy have in
their power above a hundred men, British soldiers, taken on that day,
straggling in the rear, and in the flanks of the army. As the army did
not march more than ten or twelve miles on that day, and the country
was perfectly open, the straggling of the soldiers, and their being
prisoners, must be attached to the neglect of the officers of their
regiments. It is quite obvious that if the soldiers cannot be made to
march in their ranks at all times, the army cannot effect a march in
face of an enemy, and it is so far unfit for service, &c. &c."
I do not at present wish to give many extracts from the Duke of
Wellington's orders; but another dated Paris, the 9th of August, 1815,
will be sufficient to prove that the character of British soldiers had
not changed from 1812 up to that period.
No. 4. "The Field Marshal receives constant complaints of the robberies
committed on the road from Neuilly to Paris, and he therefore now
desires that guards may be mounted by the divisions encamped at
Neuilly, and in the Bois de Bologne, so as to have sentries in
communication with each other from Neuilly to the barrier de L'Etoile."
I consider it also necessary to give here two division orders nearly to
the same effect:
"D.O. _Madrid, 28th August, 1812._
"1. The officer commanding the escort of prisoners furnished by the
3rd division, which rejoined this morning, has reported that the men
composing that detachment, were extremely irregular while absent, and
some individuals were disobedient to a great degree.
"2. The disobedient non-commissioned officers and soldiers are to be
tried by a Division Court Martial, and the soldiers composing the
remainder of the detachment are to stand under arms from six o'clock
every evening till nine at night, for seven successive days, when they
are to be marched into their quarters, to which they are also to be
confined for the same period.
"3. No soldier of this detachment is to be suffered to take his duty
for seven days, but must make it up afterwards.
"4. Any man of this detachment who shall fall sick before the
expiration of punishment, must stand under arms after recovery.
"5. The British Brigade will ultimately furnish three sergeants to
superintend this disgrace under the orders of the Provost-martial,
who will correct, on the spot, any soldier who may commit further
irregularity.
"Severity and shame are required to bring soldiers to a sense of duty,
who forget every principle when detached, and require force to command
them."
"D.O. _Moimenta de Beira, 24th Dec. 1812._
"1. The detachment of recovered men that left Celorico on the 15th
instant, were irregular and disobedient.
"2. So much has been said on the subject of soldiers forgetting their
duty when detached, that Major-General Pakenham, for the present,
gives up the idea of bringing the troops to a sense of discipline by
reason.
"3. When punishment has made the unprincipled sensible of their
crimes, and the good soldiers know they will be supported if they will
take the lead, then reason shall again be referred to.
"4. The soldiers composing the detachment of Lieutenant Walsh, 5th
regiment, are to be assembled at the head-quarters of their respective
brigades, for the purpose of being kept under arms, for ten days, from
daylight till nightfall.
"5. The said soldiers are afterwards to be drilled for one month with
the young soldiers, and they are not to have either spirits or wine
for the whole period.
"6. The Provost-martial and assistant will frequently visit this
punishment and notice any impropriety.
"7. Officers commanding brigades will report the manner in which the
detachment joined the several battalions on the 22d instant."
Many more of Lord Wellington's observations upon the conduct of
soldiers might be adduced, but what I have given, and the orders of
Sir Edward Pakenham, are deemed sufficient for the object now in view.
But his Grace throughout the whole of his campaigns threw most of the
blame for such outrages occurring upon the officers, whom he constantly
accused of neglect of duty, or such crimes could not have been
perpetrated. I beg leave, however, to observe, and I am alone induced
to do so in some measure to justify officers in general, that many of
them were both active and zealous in the performance of their duties,
but the men they had to deal with were very incorrigible; and those who
were then subalterns must well remember that the chief responsibility
rested most heavily upon them; for the soldiers were almost never
allowed to leave their camps but under their charge; for it was too
well known, and I regret to say it, that many of the non-commissioned
officers could not be much more trusted than the privates.
As a regimental officer of long experience, not only at home and
abroad, but also in the field; as a staff officer during the greater
part of the Peninsular war; and with the army of occupation in France,
and in other parts of the world, I unhesitatingly declare, that
corporal punishment as now inflicted in the army, cannot be dispensed
with, but at the risk of the total subversion of all discipline: indeed
the hampering commanding officers in this respect, as has been the
fashion of late years; and its being fancied, or pretended, that he
is the best commander of a regiment, who returns the smallest number
of soldiers punished, is, to say the least, very impolitic, and most
injurious to the interests of the army; for crimes which should have
called for punishment, must in consequence have been passed over,
or so inadequately visited upon the offenders, that other men could
not have been deterred from being guilty of similar conduct, and the
effects of this, I fear, must in the end be dangerous; for what we
frequently hear of and read respecting military punishments, in some
of the newspapers, can scarcely, when coupled with an unavoidably
relaxed state of discipline, be expected to have any other tendency.
Solitary confinement, to be at all efficacious in preventing or
punishing crimes in the army, keeps the soldier too long away from his
necessary exercises and duties, and if it takes place in our common
jails, whatever he may have gone into them, he certainly must come out
matured in crime, from being the associate of criminals of the worst
description; for what jail can contain sufficient cells to separate
all who may be sent there. Offenders' lists, common and marching order
drills, confinement to barracks, &c. &c., are all well enough, in
these quiet times, for trifling offences or irregularities at home
or abroad, so long as the soldier knows that he can be brought to
the halberts for any act of insubordination on such occasions; but
in case of war, and should it be necessary for our army to take the
field, this system would never answer. I must beg, however, that it
may not be supposed, that I am by any means an advocate for continuing
corporal punishments, or that I have any intention of extenuating or
justifying what was sometimes practised by officers, under generally, I
feel convinced, a mistaken idea, that they were only doing what their
duty required of them; but my surprise often was, how officers who
composed courts-martial, could by their sentences, always so readily
lend themselves to the views, or perhaps badly regulated feelings of
their commanders: indeed the trials I have witnessed were sometimes
little else than mere matter of form, and they could not well be
otherwise, for I have seen a soldier receive two or three hundred,
or even more lashes, inflicted with great severity, under a sentence
awarded by a drum-head court-martial, after an investigation of a few
minutes duration of the charges brought against him. Such arbitrary
proceedings as these, were generally abuses of power, with which many
men are unfit to be entrusted; and from habit we really thought little
of such matters, and the soldiers themselves were only thereby rendered
the more callous. I declare, however, that I am at a loss to say, which
is preferable--the prompt manner of acting in our navy, where a captain
when he orders the punishment of a man, does so on his own serious
responsibility, or that of a commanding officer of a regiment, who can
generally act as he pleases, whilst all he does is sanctioned by a
court martial.
I could easily bring forward many occurrences which would show in the
strongest light, how much a serious consideration of both our old and
present system in the army, as regards punishments, is required; but so
heartily do I detest flogging, that my thoughts have been long directed
to devise means of getting rid of it; but I always tremble at the
obvious alternative--_capital punishments_--which must be resorted to,
and I should fear, very frequently, as in the French armies, especially
upon service, as a substitute for flogging for the maintenance of
discipline; for an army without it, is, as the Duke of Wellington
observed in one of the orders I have given, a rabble, and must be far
more dangerous to the country to which it belongs, than formidable to
its enemies.
For years past, I have given this subject most serious consideration.
I have weighed all its difficulties, and I can see no way of doing
away with flogging in a British army, so long as it is composed of
the present description of men. But I am inclined to hope, and I must
now beg that all I have to say may be heard with patience--that this
most desirable object may be attained by a completely new organisation
of our regiments, and bringing into their ranks a totally different
description of men, from those who generally offer themselves as
recruits--men with other ideas, and altogether other feelings.
But as I wish to bring the subjects I intend to discuss, candidly
and fairly before the reader, I must beg leave to transcribe what
Sir George Murray lately said at a great public meeting in London,
as taken from "the Times." "The British Army did not consist of the
constrained conscripts of arbitrary power, but of citizens voluntarily
in arms to defend their country, to obey and respect her laws at home,
and to resist and repel, with their utmost energy, every effort of
her foreign foes, &c. &c." Sir George Murray, as the world knows,
and as the British Army in particular knows, is a most able and
accomplished Quarter Master General; but as such he could not have had
much to say to the maintenance of discipline, for that comes under the
Adjutant-General; yet still he will no doubt be looked upon as good
authority in such matters, so much so, that I have been induced thus to
give what may be considered as his opinion, and which the sequel will
still more show to be contrary to mine: indeed, if I were not borne out
by the evidence I have even already adduced, my attempting to do any
thing towards improvement in our army would seem to be unnecessary and
uncalled for.
An intelligent writer observes, that the French campaigns of 1792,
93 and 94 astonished military Europe. At first the French armies
had neither discipline, nor order, and but little instruction. The
regiments were without organization. National intelligence put in
motion by exalted feeling, for the moment did every thing. The
conscription had brought more knowledge into a single French regiment,
than there was to be found in a whole enemy's division. This was
certainly the case, but I am very far from wishing to establish a
conscription in Great Britain like what exists in France; but the
times, we may depend upon it, will compel us, and that too before long,
to think of getting, with greater facility, another description of men
into our armies; if it were only to enable us to meet our enemies in
the field on fair terms; and I would, therefore, at once beg to propose
to overturn entirely the present system of enlistment for regiments
of Dragoons, Artillery, the Line, and the Marines; and in its stead,
a plan could be introduced for calling forth those warlike energies
of the people of Great Britain and Ireland, which they so eminently
possess; but for safety to our liberties, which we ought ever carefully
to cherish, I would still keep the powerful means I have in view, under
the control of Parliament both as to men and money.
Suppose a law were enacted, extending and improving our militia system,
and permanently establishing amongst our millions of people, two
descriptions of soldiers; in place of our present inefficient mode of
calling out that force for service in Great Britain and Ireland only;
and exempting clergymen, all seamen serving, or who may have served
in our navy, or such as have been duly apprenticed to our merchant
service; and certain individuals employed in the Civil departments of
the state, every man, no matter how high or low his rank in life may
be, should be made liable to be called upon to serve his country as a
soldier, but by Act of Parliament only; and for this purpose, all those
at a certain time of life should be required to have, under a heavy
penalty, and according to their means, or at the risk of imprisonment,
or treatment as vagrants, known places of abode, or belong to a parish
or district where they could be found or heard of; for my object is,
that the wealthy, who for their own gratifications might think fit to
reside abroad, may not be able to evade the law.
From the effective part of our male population, between the ages of
seventeen and thirty-five, I would propose to call out once each
year, (or oftener when necessary) by lot or ballot, and according to
registers to be publicly and fairly kept, so that every individual
coming under the act, could be aware that he might expect to be drawn
for, a certain number of healthy men, about a fixed height--say 5 feet
5-1/2 inches--to constitute or keep up the first, or regular army of
Great Britain and Ireland, liable to serve in any part of the world,
for _ten years only_, when, having so served, they must be discharged,
whether at home or abroad, unless their characters are so good, as to
render it desireable that they should be kept longer in the service,
and should it be also their own wish to remain in it. If they are kept,
it ought to be for five years more. At the end of that second period,
they must, if they desire it, be discharged; but they should then, if
their conduct has continued good, be entitled to receive a pension for
life of nine-pence a day, and also to a medal of _superior merit_, and
they ought now to get both, whether they are to be again kept in the
service or not. If it is still desirable that they should remain in
it, and that they are also willing to do so, it must be for another
or third period of five years; at the end of which--that is to say 20
years--if they have maintained the respectability of their characters,
they should receive, on now retiring from the service, an additional
three-pence per diem, making in all the full pension of one shilling a
day for life, together with what should be termed the _grand medal_.
If non-commissioned officers, they of course should get a superior
description of medals and higher rates of pensions, whether corporals,
serjeants, or staff-serjeants. But all discharges--and I consider this
of vast importance--ought to set forth distinctly their characters as
soldiers, whether good, indifferent, or bad, and should invariably be
delivered to them publicly, in presence of, at least, one magistrate
and a clergyman of the city, town, or parish to which they formerly
belonged, when they could not again be called upon to serve as soldiers.
If the character of the men who have served for ten years only, show
that they have been brave, honest and regular during that period, they
should also receive _publicly_ a _medal_ of _merit_, and thus become
entitled, along with those who have served longer, and have received
pensions, to the privileges of _freemen_ in the cities, towns, and
parishes, to which they originally belonged. They should also, together
with other advantages, have a right to vote at all elections of Members
to serve in Parliament, and likewise at the appointment of persons
to the corporate bodies, and should be themselves eligible to fill
situations in or under such bodies, in the cities, towns, or parishes,
to which they belonged. If their conduct as soldiers had been bad
or disreputable, all these advantages should be withheld from them.
Some of them, according to character, ought to be sent off without
remark upon their conduct, but others, if they deserved it, should
have the words "Disgraced Soldier," stamped in large letters, by their
commanding officer's orders, upon their discharges; and thus soldiers
would be deterred from disgracing, not only their regiments, but also
their families, to whom they would know, that when they were to be
discharged, they would always, and under all circumstances, be sent
back.
It being most desirable towards attaining the object I have in view,
that no soldier should be permitted to remain in the army, whose habits
would bring disgrace upon the corps to which he might be attached;
when it was therefore found, that a soldier had committed a serious
crime, or that his conduct had become bad or disgraceful, he should
either be handed over to the civil power, or brought to trial before
a Court-martial, which should have the power, besides transporting
him as a felon, or making him serve as a soldier for life in any part
of the world, to sentence him to be turned out of the regiment, with
every mark of infamy, and to be sent back, under escort, to the place
from whence he came, to be there discharged, in the manner already
pointed out, and also imprisoned, if thought necessary for the sake of
example, in the common jail, for any period not exceeding two years.
If this system is ever established, merit will be distinguished and
rewarded, and bad conduct publicly stigmatized or punished.
As the regular army should at all times be complete in numbers, and
efficient in every respect; when vacancies occurred in corps, they
should be supplied yearly, from the city, town, or rather district,
from which the several regiments would be kept up. Great Britain
and Ireland would, therefore, if this plan is carried into effect,
have to be divided into districts; but for this purpose, counties
and cities would nearly answer, and each district being required to
furnish men for a particular regiment of cavalry (and this should be
an agricultural one), or of artillery, infantry of the line, or of
marines; the cavalry or infantry regiments should take the name of that
district, as well as retain its own particular number, together with
such designations, badges, or honorary distinctions, to which it may be
at present entitled.
The second army, to be officered as our present militia, and to be
embodied upon the same system, and managed and disciplined as the
first, and styled either Militia, or the Army of Reserve, could be
called out to serve in Great Britain or Ireland only, when the country,
either from being at war, or in case of commotions, might require its
services; or should it be deemed necessary, that this force be embodied
for a fixed time.
The men for the Reserve might be taken at a lower height, and from
the age of sixteen to forty-five; but serving in the Reserve should
not exempt individuals from taking their turn if drawn in the mean
time for the First or Regular Army. When the Reserve, or a part of it
is embodied, a few officers and non-commissioned officers (receiving
additional pay when so employed), should be taken for a short time
from the Regular Regiments, to assist in the formation and drilling of
the corps; but any permanent staff for this purpose must be found not
only useless, but expensive. A Quarter-master alone could be required
to take charge of stores of any kind belonging to the battalion when
embodied.
Any man, who by ballot, becomes liable to serve in the First or Regular
Army, must do so, or find within a given time, and at his own expense,
a proper substitute of good character, or else pay down the sum of, say
fifty pounds, for exemption: and finding a substitute or paying the
stipulated sum, ought to exempt the person for the future from serving;
but any individual who may have joined the corps for which he has been
drawn, ought not afterwards to be discharged, but by the authority of
the Commander-in-Chief.
Finding a proper substitute of good character, or paying down
say--twenty pounds, under the same rules as those established for the
regular army, should entitle individuals to exemption from serving in
the army of reserve. And it might fully be expected, that the reserve
regiments, under officers so patriotic and zealous as those of our
militia always were, would soon become like battalions of the line,
and so highly disciplined as quite to equal them, as was the case
with many of our militia corps last war. I am, therefore, decidedly
of opinion, that it would never again be necessary to add second
battalions to regiments of the regular army, nor to raise at great
expense fencible corps. The plan of second battalions was in general
found to be even as objectionable as our present inefficient depot
system, for it too often afforded only very inferior supplies to first
battalions, of half disciplined soldiers.
To commence this system of the ballot for the regular army (which,
by allowing the finding of substitutes, or the paying a sum of money
for exemption from serving, completely removes the idea of arbitrary
conscription,) I beg further to suggest, that commanding officers,
under the superintendence of generals selected for the purpose, should
have the power of rejecting, and recommending to be discharged from
their corps, all men whom, from character, health, or other causes,
they may consider objectionable; and the remainder should be allowed to
come under the new regulations, as to the period of ten years service,
dating from the time of their enlistment; and this being carefully and
judiciously arranged, upon the responsibility of commanding officers
and regimental surgeons, the numbers required for corps of cavalry,
infantry, artillery, or marines, to complete them to their respective
establishments, should be called out at once by ballot, and thus the
immense expense of bounties might be saved, and a sum for a complete
equipment for each soldier of the regular army would only hereafter be
required from the country.
This new and more constitutional mode of recruiting the army, would
bring into its ranks, and in a manner so little objectionable, such
a different description of men, and would so vastly increase the
respectability of the service, and give such a high tone of national,
and also local interest and feeling to our regiments (for they ought
ever after to be kept up by men from the same districts), that the idea
of subjecting such soldiers, who could no longer be considered as mere
mercenaries, to the corporal punishment of flogging, should, I trust,
be abandoned. It may, however, be said, that corporal punishment was
found to be necessary to keep up discipline formerly in our militia;
and it might be asked, were not the men then called out, and as I now
propose, of much the same description as those who composed the militia
regiments? I answer--that men who could conduct themselves so as to
deserve flogging--which was too much the fashion in those days, ought
to have been turned out of the regiments, or got rid of as I have
already pointed out.
It may be supposed, that some of the soldiers after having conducted
themselves well for ten years, might not think fit to take advantage
of the opportunity which would be offered them, of remaining in the
service, so as to obtain pensions at future periods; but having
accepted of their discharges, had returned to their homes, where,
finding out that military habits had become more powerful with them
than they supposed, they might again wish to return to the service.
Now, although these men would have got beyond the age at which
substitutes might be taken, yet they should be allowed to become such,
provided they offered themselves within one year from the date of their
discharges, and having served reputably for ten years more, I would
propose so far to give them credit for their former ten years service,
as to allow them, on being discharged, pensions of nine-pence a day,
but no more, for not having availed themselves of the opportunity of
remaining in the army, when they might have done so, other men had to
be called out and equipped at the expense of the country, to replace
them in their regiments; and it would also be presumed, that they had
been paid for becoming substitutes. It might be expected that such
men, after ten years service only, would make excellent policemen, or
non-commissioned officers for the Reserve when called out.
If it were necessary to advocate in the strongest possible manner, the
advantages of corps possessing national, or rather local feelings, I
would have nothing to do but to instance some of the Scotch regiments,
which were raised and kept up from particular parts of that country,
whose conduct in all situations, and under all circumstances, was so
praise-worthy. These corps, whilst they were proverbial for their
gallantry in the field, were known to have been for long periods
without a single instance of corporal punishment.
An army composed, as that I have in view, ought not to be officered
by men who can get forward, as at present, by purchasing over the
heads, too often, of much better soldiers than themselves, in point
of gallantry, military science, and experience. And how strangely
also, and inconsistently, are honours conferred upon officers in our
army--not for alone distinguishing themselves in action, but because
they happened to hold a rank sufficiently high to entitle them to a
certain command, or to be the head of a department, and to which the
greater part of them had attained, perhaps, by money, well backed by
interest; for an officer may have been in every action of importance,
from the beginning of the present century up to Waterloo; may have
frequently distinguished himself, and may have been even promoted to
the rank of Major, and Lieutenant-Colonel, for services in the field,
and yet not be entitled to either a clasp or medal, because he did not
happen to hold that which would bring him within a fixed regulation
on this head. I do not, however, pretend to say, that many of those
who commanded corps or detached bodies, and who had arrived at that
honour by means of money, were not excellent and gallant officers,
but others, over whose heads they, perhaps, had got, could have been
pointed out, whom, from not possessing that mainspring, money, or from
want of opportunity of applying it, had been obliged to submit to
the, perhaps, annoying questions of a genteel, though not rich, and
consequently uninfluential family--such as--pray, Colonel, how comes
it, that you have neither a clasp nor a medal, nor any thing else to
show, although we know that you were present in so many battles, and
at so many sieges; when there was at the Mayor's feast the other day
(and yet we never heard much of him) General Sir Richard Sam, the son
of old Dickey Sam, who, years ago, did his best to bring in ---- for
----, who was quite covered with clasps, medals, and ribbons, and he
is also a Knight Commander of the Bath into the bargain. Well might it
have puzzled the Emperor Napoleon to conceive how a British army could
have been kept efficient, and in the state it was, in which high minded
gentlemen were subjected to so galling and absurd a system of obtaining
rank and honours; especially when it was also seen, that through the
effects of our strange brevet system, a Captain of a Company, from
being, perhaps, a senior Lieut.-Colonel in the Army, could in garrison,
or when acting with a mixed body of troops in the field, take the
command of the whole, and likewise of the Lieut.-Colonel of his own
regiment,--and I have known instances of this kind--but probably
the very next day, when the corps came to act separately, or when a
senior officer took the command of the troops, the Lieut.-Colonel of
the corps, or its major, or any of its captains, who happened to have
seniority in the regiment to the Brevet Lieut.-Colonel, could drill
him in the ranks to their heart's content, and thus teach the teacher
of the previous day respect for his--very likely--superior in wealth.
All this is, however, very ridiculous, and shews our brevet system to
be bad, and that it should, as well as the present mode of purchasing
promotion, be abandoned.
The matter could be easily settled, and the mischief obviated for the
future, by the country refunding to those who purchased promotion, if
they think fit to retire from the army, the regulated sums they are
supposed to have paid; and, under other heads, I hope to be able to
show, should any avail themselves of this offer, how savings can be
effected to meet this or any other outlay I may venture to propose;
for it is too well known to be denied, that many an officer, who
bought promotion in former times in this undeniably injurious manner
to the service, pledged his word of honour, that he would not give
more than the regulated price, whereas he had, perhaps, at the moment
agreed privately to pay double for the step; and what must be thought
of a system, when even those in power had not probably the necessary
information to enable them to check such evasion, and almost open
defiance of orders.
The Sovereign alone, at the recommendation of the Commander-in-Chief,
should have the power of rewarding and honouring conspicuous gallantry,
and high merit, by marks of distinction, or by promotion out of the
regular routine of seniority; but this prerogative, I think it will
be allowed, ought, especially as regards promotion, to be very rarely
exercised; and putting an end to such a disheartening and disgusting
a practice, as that of officers being able to get forward by money or
interest alone, would wonderfully improve our regiments of the line,
and infinitely more those of our cavalry.
I have just had my attention called to some of the points which appear
to have been brought under the consideration of the Naval and Military
Commission, from whom so much was looked for. I confess that I am
greatly disappointed; for they seem to me to have only tried how they
could best repair an old defective system, in place of proposing, as
might have been expected from so many experienced officers, something
new, and more suitable to the times, and the wants of the country;
but this, I conclude, has been occasioned by the manner in which the
several points were submitted for their consideration; and I am not,
therefore, deterred from proceeding in the task I have assigned myself,
and must remark, in continuing my subject, that if what I propose
is adopted, we might probably hear of promotion being expected to
be too slow; but what I have still to beg attention to, may greatly
obviate any such objections; yet, when officers saw that justice was
done impartially, it would make them patient and contented, even if
promotion were slow; but let me ask, where were such officers to be met
with in any army, as our highly educated and enlightened officers of
Engineers and Artillery, though for many years situated with respect to
promotion, as I wish all our officers nearly to be in future.
Granting the brevet rank of field officer to regimental captains is
of little advantage to them individually, and has often been found
injurious to the service; and would be still more so under the proposed
system; and it ought in consequence, to be (as I have before suggested)
abandoned, or at all events as seldom conferred as possible. In order
that regimental field rank may be sooner attained, I would venture to
recommend, that no lieut.-colonel should be obliged to remain in the
almost always unpleasant and most responsible command of a regiment,
longer than a fixed number of years; when having so served, he should,
as a matter of course, become a major-general on the _effective
list_--that is, he ought to receive a fixed pay, though not employed.
Or perhaps it might be preferable, when a lieut.-colonel had commanded
for the required number of years, if he thought proper to retire
altogether from active service, with the rank however of major-general,
to allow him a superior retirement from the country to what may be
the pay of major-generals on the effective list; and this being added
to what he would receive from a military fund, which I intend yet to
propose, would induce many to avail themselves of the opportunity,
especially if they had little hope of being actively employed, or no
chance of getting a regiment. This would remove any apprehension from
being entertained of our generals on the effective list becoming too
numerous.
I am aware it may be said, that this plan is defective; for there
is no arrangement made, so as to remove one of the great objections
to our present mode of promotion, with regard to officers of
engineers, artillery, and marines; but I take a very simple view of
this matter; for I would merely look to a list of officers of the
regular army of all ranks, and to the dates of their commissions;
and when a cornet or ensign of any regiment became by the regular
routine of promotion a lieutenant, I would, as a matter of course,
make any officer of engineers, artillery, or marines of the same
standing, a lieutenant also, yet without giving him the additional
pay till a vacancy occurred in his own corps; and I would do the
same through the different gradations of ranks, until the officers
of engineers or artillery had become lieut.-colonels. I would then
style them, and cause them to act as chiefs of engineers or artillery,
and which rank they should hold for the same number of years as
lieut.-colonels commanding regiments, when, like them, they should
become major-generals; and enabling them also to take advantage of the
retirement from the country, and of the system to be proposed for the
military fund, these accomplished officers, if they thought fit to
remain upon the effective list, could become available for staff or any
other appointments the same as other generals, and at the same period
of life. Out of the effective list of major-generals, lieut.-generals,
or generals, the Commander-in-chief, as at present, could select those
whom it might be deemed advisable to employ upon the staff of the
army, or for any particular object, and as it is to be presumed that
their services might be constantly required, especially in our foreign
possessions, few of them would be found an unnecessary burden upon the
country.
Many objections might be started as to our present plan of unattached
promotion; and if what I propose is adopted, these would be greatly
increased. Staff officers alone should be allowed to hold unattached
rank, and their promotion should progress in the same manner as I have
suggested for the engineers and artillery. But if unattached promotion
is to continue, it should be very rarely resorted to, and never but
as a reward for very distinguished services; and if such officers
must be brought into regiments, their being so would be infinitely
less objectionable and annoying, than if they had got over the heads
of their brother officers by money alone. My alarm on this head is on
account of the interest or patronage which might be exerted. But I do
not see how unattached officers can, with any degree of justice, be
brought into regiments, unless it were done when vacancies occurred by
deaths, or when officers were dismissed the service by the sentences of
courts martial; and in the former case not allowing such steps to go in
the corps, in which they took place, would be considered very unfair
dealing. It might probably be said, let the unattached officers who
have to be brought in, pay to retiring officers the whole sums usually
given on such occasions--as will be pointed out when the plan for the
military fund comes to be considered--but I must object to this, as it
would be restoring the system of purchase, even in a worse and more
objectionable form than it assumes at present.
A very essential duty should be performed by major-generals, for
whose travelling and other expenses on such occasions a suitable
allowance ought to be made; viz. that of superintending the ballot
of the men for the regiments in the several districts. Assisted by
at least two magistrates or civil authorities of the district, who
could be supposed most able to afford information respecting the
people, these major-generals ought to see the process of balloting
carried on in their presence, and thus all bribery, or any kind of
unfairness could be guarded against. They should also be required
to see and approve of such men as were produced as substitutes. One
major-general could superintend the ballot in a number of districts,
but he should not be sent for two years following to the same places;
so that the people might be satisfied that any kind of collusion was
impossible; especially as our medical staff (also never going for two
successive years to the same district) stand too high in rank and
public estimation, to admit of its being for a moment supposed, that
they could be induced by any means to pronounce a man fit or unfit
for service, unless he really were so; and as for a man's height or
appearance, the general could not be easily deceived in these respects.
The present expensive recruiting establishments throughout the United
Kingdom might be greatly reduced, as in future they could only be
required for certain colonial corps, which I shall have to speak of
hereafter.
The cruelty of this system of ballot, although rendered almost as
mild as that at present in force for the militia, would no doubt be
much talked of by pretenders to philanthropy; and the people might be
made to suppose, that it was intended to introduce as many horrors
into it, as attend a Russian conscription; but the cases would be
widely different. In Russia public opinion is of no weight, and is
openly set at defiance. In Great Britain it is all powerful, and
must be respected. I will not even talk of a French conscription, in
which the youth of France gloried in the days of Napoleon. It may
probably be asked, would you take away a father, and leave a large and
perhaps helpless family to starve or become a burden upon the parish;
or would you take away the only son of a widow, or her only one fit
for agricultural purposes? I answer--that I intend to do no such
thing--but let these philanthropists, and the parish or district, and
especially the wealthy part of it, make timely arrangements to find
substitutes for such fathers or sons, if they have not the means to
do so themselves; and thus such contingencies could be easily met, by
what would only be a charitable duty, which one man owes to another, if
he presumes to say that his heart is influenced by correct christian
feeling.