While the commissariat falls so far short of its duties it is abundantly expensive. I do not assert that the European officers make money, or vouch for the truth of the popular belief of widely-extended corruption in the department; but it has an exceedingly bad name, and this much is certain, that matters are conducted in a loose and native style, which is not now known in any other department, and that commissariat officers seem to have a lofty disregard of all public financial considerations. As long as their accounts are regular, and they can make out bills in due form, they are quite indif ferent to the amount.*

I believe that, being much pressed, and when a war is much protracted, the commissariat does sometimes do something in the way of getting up supplies of grain, but they do this only by putting unlimited trust in individual natives, who take the matter up as a speculation, make their own arrangements in native fashion, render their own accounts, and are paid on their own terms;

A large camp was once passing through my district. On such occasions a constant source of strife between the villagers and camp followers is the destruction of peepul-trees, which are called sacred, and are really the ornament and shade of the villages, but of which elephants and camels are particularly fond. In this instance the complaints were unusually numerous and urgent. Bodies of camp-followers completely stripped of its branches every peepul-tree for miles on each side of the line of march; and at the same time I found that my supply of fodder for the camp-cattle was not taken off my hands. I went to the commissariat-officer: "Surely," I said, "there can be no necessity for robbing private property when I am ready to supply fodder at a reasonable price." "Oh," he replied, "I pay for fodder. There is no reason why they should cut peepul-trees." But," I said, "your people don't buy fodder. Let us compare your bought account with my sold account." "Oh no, no," he said, "I can't go into these particulars. There is a fixed allowance of fodder for the cattle; and so long as that is not exceeded, and the cattle are kept in condition, I can't interfere. If you catch them cutting peepul-trees you must punish them. I have nothing to do with it." I could not catch an army with a few policeman; and if I had authorised the villagers to turn out and fight pitched battles in defence of their property there would have been a pretty return of killed and wounded.

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and who are the real masters of the European commissariat officers.

missariat, and

change.

I principally attribute the inefficiency of the commissariat to the absence of any regular Cause of inefficommissariat service. Commissariat ap- ciency of compointments are filled by regimental officers proposed possessed of no particular qualifications, and changed from time to time. I will even, without periphrasis, express my belief that most of these officers are quite unfit for such duties. It seems to me that the commissariat ought to be a sort of mercantile establishment; and if it is necessary in the English army to make it a separate department, much more is it so in India, where everything is so strange to us. Nothing requires a more thorough knowledge, both of mercantile business and of native customs and manners, than commissariat dealings; and of all people in the world the least likely to acquire such knowledge are regimental officers. We shall not now establish a purely native commissariat as we might have done in the days of Clive. Let us make use of the natives by all means, but let us have efficient European officers to supervise them; and for so peculiar a service we must have men specially appointed to the department and who devote their lives. to it.

It remains to notice the mode of supplying European officers to the army. Under the arrange- Mode of supplyments which I have proposed the num-cers to bers may be in future diminished, but native army. a much larger proportion of men considerably above the average will be required. The efficiency of native regiments commanded by European officers will altogether depend on having good men to command them. Hitherto the appointment of officers of the army has been matter of pure patronage in the first instance, and

small pro

of pure seniority afterwards; and but a very portion of the whole have received some military education at Addiscombe. I do not think that you can test efficiency in young officers by examinations to the same extent as in the case of young men intended for civil service, but some preliminary test is very advan tageous, and a military education is most necessary. I believe that we are the only nation in Europe the body of whose officers, not promoted from the ranks, do not receive some military education in military schools before appointment to the commissioned grades, and hence the unscientific character of our army as compared, for instance, to that of France. But in the English army the peculiar discipline of a regiment acts as a sort of edu cation to the young officer. In India, on the other hand, the system of a native regiment is not at all the same thing: the officers live apart from their men, and apart from one another; they are few in number; they get away from their regiments whenever they can; and I must venture to say that there is not the same discipline among the officers as in one of her Majesty's European regiments. A military education is, therefore, very necessary; and, instead of selling cadetships, it will be infinitely better to require the expenditure of the money in education and enhanced qualifications.

The Court of Directors, rightly considering it inexpedient that it should remain a matter of doubt whether their officers can read and write, and in correspondence with the lately instituted examinations in the Queen's service, have recently required of all cadets to pass a certain examination; but we must, I think, go a step farther. The arguments which I have used in favour of a particular selected place of education for civil servants apply with still greater force to the purely professional military education; and I would therefore have a great

military polytechnic school, to which all cadets should be sent for at least two years, where all Proposed miliunfit persons should be eliminated, and all tary school; fit persons should acquire a certain military education and discipline before being sent out to India. Addiscombe is, I believe, an excellent institution; we only want such a place for all cadets.

On arrival in India I should say that a young officer might be with advantage attached for a and proposed year to a European regiment. He would system in India. then be posted to a native regiment officered by Europeans, and from these latter regiments good officers would be selected as commandants of the ordinary native regiments.

It is of essential importance that officers withdrawn from their original regiments should cease to be borne on the regimental rolls, and that staff officers should be put on an unattached or staff list. It is also much to be desired that the inequality between the emoluments of staff and regimental officers should be diminished, and that there should be as few staff appointments open to regimental officers as possible. Officers should feel their regimental duties to be their profession, and not be continually seeking staff appointments. I should say that the quartermaster-general's department might be (like the commissariat) with great advantage separated from the general staff, for it is at present by no means efficient, and in all late campaigns the complaints regarding it have been loud and deep. For the adjutant-general's department, the military board, and some other duties, you must no doubt select good regimental officers, and pay them well; but petty staff appointments should be as rare as possible, and should not be made prizes by large allowances. I have already argued that it will be a great advantage to the army if it can be

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relieved from the temptation to covet civil and political appointments.

The public are now well aware of the evil of the system by which officers, when quite unfit for duty, are elevated into important commands, and it is unnecessary that I should dwell upon them. But the system remains the same. Even the Cabul lesson has had no effect, and God forbid that we should some day at length receive a sufficient lesson in some disaster of still more fatal magnitude and vital importance. Now-a-days wars will be concluded long before the chapter of accidents has produced a school of good generals. Shall we not, then, while there is yet time, devise some remedy?

ments.

One word on our Indian naval establishments. The Naval establish- Indian navy, after deducting certain receipts, costs on an average about 400,000l. net* per annum-not a very large sum compared to our military establishments, but still important in the present condition of our finances. The question is entirely one of degree. Although a squadron of the British navy protects the Indian Ocean, some local flotilla is no doubt necessary to an empire which has a great sea-coast. The Indian navy consists almost entirely of steamers and light vessels. There are eleven large steamers, some smaller river steamers, and a few sailing vessels. If this force is to be employed in Burmese and Chinese wars,

* The gross charges are about 545,000l.; the receipts from various sources about 145,000. There is a discrepancy between the general statement of charges on account of the Indian navy given at p. 783 of the Report of the Commons' Committee and the detailed Indian and English accounts. Both the disbursements and receipts stated in the latter are larger. The Indian accounts give a charge exceeding 400,000l., and receipts exceeding 90,000.net charge 310,000l. The home accounts-disbursements, including building stores, &c., about 140,000l.; receipt from her Majesty's Government for conveyance of mails 50,000l.-net charge 90,000l. It is then only by including this last-mentioned receipt of 50,000l. (which is said to be excluded) that the net charge is brought down to 400,000l.