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494 THE LEADER. fNo. 374, Satubdat
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THE AHMY EDUCATION STRUGGLE. A fencing-m...
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THE BALLOT ARGUMENT. The principal polit...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Princess Eoyal. We Have At All Times...
of Sir CoBNEWAiiii IiEWis , that the hereditary revenues of the Crown having been surrendered , the Royal Family is dependent on the bounty of the House of Commons . "Whatever ia the case with the British Crown , the Prussian Crown has . never surrendered its immense hereditary revenues ; there is not the shadow of an excuse for this scandalous proposal . It is urged that the Pbincess Royal should not be dependent on her husband for her private expenses . If for her happiness , however , why not for her private expenses ? "We cannot dotibt that the course
adopted by the Government will shake its popularity and disquiet the mind of the nation with reference to the cost , actual and probable , of the Royal Family . Interest and principal , the Prussian marriage may be not unfairly valued at 200 , 000 Z . When all the princes and princesses have been married from Buckingham Palace how much shall we have paid for the really inestimable blessings of Majesty and its consequences ? Especially when we begin , as Mr . Roebuck says , by conferring on the Pkikcess Royal an annuity which no assurance-office would sell for less than 200 , 000 ^ ., in addition to a splendid dowry .
494 The Leader. Fno. 374, Satubdat
494 THE LEADER . fNo . 374 , Satubdat
The Ahmy Education Struggle. A Fencing-M...
THE AHMY EDUCATION STRUGGLE . A fencing-match between Lord Palmeeston and Sir De Lacy Evans on Monday night was only the forerunner of the contest which is commencing . Sir De Lacy Evans asked Lord Palivieeston for the report of the late commission on the military educational institutions of the Continent , which had been in a certain limited circulation , but had not yet reached the House of Commons . Lord Palmeeston replied , that the question
of military education had for some time occupied the most serious attention of the departments ; those proposals had eventually led to the determination to appoint a board composed of military officers of great merit , presided over by the Commander-in-Chief , to consider the system of education now in force , and to mature a plan to be finally adopted for the education of officers of the army ; but he objected to laying before Parliament the disjointed elements of which
such a plan might be constructed . Sir De Lacy Evans repeated his request for the particular report which has already been circulated . It has been ., in the hands of several Peers ; wo have had it in our own hands ; but it has been withheld from the House of Commons . Lord Pai . mekston said that he ' was not aware that the report had been circulated by the Government ; it might have been circulated by individuals or by newspapers . ' Mr . Sidney Herbert here
interposed , ' thinking that the noble Lord and the gallant General were at cross purposes , ' and forcing upon Lord Pai / mkrston an unmistakable explanation . The Premier , who is acting as Secretary of State for War in the House of Commons , then requested Sir Db Lacy Evans to give notice of the question ; but in the meanwhile tho bluebook has been presented to the House of Commons . This little fencing-bout , we say , is only a forerunner of tho larger contest which is coming on .
Tho caso is as cloar as possible . During tho late war it was discovered that some of our officers of tho higheat rank did not understand the duties of thoir profession . A man is appointed for 700 Z ., 2000 / ., or more , as tho case may be , not for posseHfung the attainments requisite to mako an olHcer ; ho obtains his promotion on tho earao ground of pounds sterling . Ib is quite necessary that ; he should prove his possession of pounds sterling by paying thorn over , but not necessary that he should show his attainments in
foreign languages , castrametation , evolution of troops , or . anything else . Officers are also promoted because they have been longer in the army than other officers ; and if they do not flagrantly misconduct themselves , this promotion by seniority has been held out as a right . We have a few schools , but they languish ; and excepting men endowed by
nature with capacity for military studies , the schools do not turn out qualified officers . Nothing more exposes the ignorance of the class than their conversation when you catch them in unguarded moments ; nothing can more exhibit the predominant incapacity to manage their own business in keeping order amongst troops , than the state of the camps which have been established as models . It
is almost uncharitable to refer to the Crimea . Exposure is the rule all round . Now they manage these things better in the Continental armies ; and if they do not get a larger crop of victories than the English , they save an immense amount of expense , suffering , and death . A commission was appointed to inquire how they managed ; that commission consisted of Colonel Smyth " , Colonel YoiiXAND , and Professor Lake ; and the report of the commissioners is the volirme which Sir De Lacy Evans wished to
see , and wished the House of Commons to see . It is a complete account of the military training enforced by those Continental states which , are most likely , in the event of any dispute , to be our powerful enemies . England is in the position of a gentleman who , during the days when gentlemen wore swords , has not learned to fence , and is not
learning to do so . Take the single case of Austria , which gives , even to her non-commissioned officers , an education of ' a very solid character ; ' which has academies for Artillery and Engineers ; has a staff school , to prepare officers for the highest appointments , and exacts from the officers actually promoted a positive and profitable study in all these schools . It is the same in Prussia ,
the same in Prance ; but we remain virtually without any machinery of the kind , with nothing but those organized apologies for it that Sir HowAitn Douglas has long since convicted of gross inefficiency . What has been the effect of this report ? Already the Commander-in-Chief had paid very considerable attention to the subject , and had used some efforts to bring about an improvement . More recently he has issued an order , requiring that officers seeking an
appointment on the Staff should possess a familiarity with one foreign language , the power of writing their own language grammatically , a knowledge of the evolution of troops , tho rules and regulations of tho service , the orders of the Horse Guards , mensuration , tho mode of surveying a country ; and , in short , those attainments which are absolutely necessary for properly executing the duties
of aide-de-camp , adjutant , or quarter-master . But what guarantee is there that this order will not remain as a mero form ? Are we really to expect that British officers from this date will be persons writing good English grammar ? One laughs at the very notion . Tho DuUc of Cambridge , no doubt , desires it ; but tho Horse Guards well know the limited power that tho Commander-in-Chief possesses , and they laugh aa well as we do at tho sanguine hope which ho exhibits .
Now tho House of Commons ^ or at least somo members of tho Mouao of Commons , share the vulgar opinion into which tho Duko of Cambridge lias b-een inveigled , that there ought to bo a complete reform in our army ; that odicera of tho Staff , at least , should possess attainments for tho proper conduct of thoir business—tho ordering , lodging , and handling of troops iu masses . Thus ,
independent members are prepared to s uppo rt the Duke of Cambridge in carryin / ouf complete reform ; but they are met % S obstructions . Lord Panmube is conservative of the present system . He has made bar rack-room improvements and regimental reforms—bucL . as they are ; but he is not prepared to surrender a system whicli re serves the higher ranks and pay of the ar mv for the well-born and the wealth y , and which might be broken down if appointments went in proportion to the actual capacit y of the officer . In preventing any reformthe first
, plan is to defend all the outposts , and to procrastinate the siege as long as possible That is the course now pursued in both Houses . "When Sir De Lact Evans asked for this simple report—requested merely to be furnished with the blue-book—Lord Palmerston , as v ? e have seen , spoke in a manner that showed him to be perfectly awake to the approach of the besiegers . He worded his answer in more than a guarded manner- ^ -in a Horse-Guarded manner . And Lord
Paitmtjre s ' explanation last night does not remove the ugly impression created by the simple facts . The official force is consolidated , and is prepared for the siege . Preparations also are making on the other side ; the approaches are already laid down , and independent members , such as Sir De Lacy Evans , are ready to demand that complete explanation which , when given , will , to a certain extent , force the Ministers into a
compliance with public opinion . We have already seen that Sir De Lacy had tho support of Mr . Sidney Herbert ; other men of standing will lend their help , the strength of their capacity , and the weight of their influence . No subject could be more j > ro ];> er for independent members of the House of Commons , or for active Reformers . It is a question of the efficacy of our army , of the independence of this nation as against foreign enemies , of the expenditure
of the public money . At present , we believe , it would be quite safe to say that at least two-thirds of tho money laid out professedly for the support of tho army is wasted in a lavish mode—in payment of useless pensions , of useless salaries to useless officers , of useless voyages for ill-directed regiments , useless camps which arc not models but exposes—for uselessness generally m the
form of a red coat . Here then is a province in which tho lioform party will find a great field to work ; one in which they will nave strong professional assistance ; in which they will be able to bring forward novel facts to awaken public interest ; in which they will be supported by a growing public opinion ; ami in which they may perform tho most signal service for their country .
The Ballot Argument. The Principal Polit...
THE BALLOT ARGUMENT . The principal political debate of this session will be on the ballot . Whatever tho Hon e of Peers may decide , it is possible that the House of Commons may pass tho measiiro . At all events , wo arc approaching tho susou of success . I ' our years ago Sir Kohbijt U ^ predicted that , sooner or later , the House , oi Commons will voto tho three readings oi Ballot J 3 ill . « Out of doors , " ho snu I , ° i
balance of political opinion me laputab ) dines to this free , easy , and honoui , * wo method of voting . " IF Pbbt . ^ " ^ S wo confidently believe that ho would bo nnion tho supporters of Mr . HkukkmoVs inot o ; Tho objection * , to tho Ballot have lost i" ^ m weight and consistency . Wo shall , J usual , hear military gentlemen , ^ ho , Hocrotly at thoir clubs , denounce g » o voting " as the refuge of coward co cU nmtists urffuinff that wherever aoci-ocy o . x
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 23, 1857, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_23051857/page/14/
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