ADDRESS MOVED. (Hansard, 27 July 1858)

§ COLONEL FREESTUN
said, he rose to move that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that she would take into consideration the unfavourable position of the subalterns of the army, with a view to affording them relief. The present scale of pay for subalterns was adopted no less than a century ago. The pay was so very inadequate that many officers were obliged to quit the army, because they could not support themselves by their professional emoluments. The various items of a subaltern's necessary expenditure, amounted altogether to £157 5s. per annum. Against this sum had to be set a twelve' month's pay, or £95 16s. 3d.; thus leaving the unfortunate officer at the end of the year £61 8s. 9d. in debt. This, however, was not all; because subalterns were also frequently put to heavy expenses of different kinds by being removed from place to place, which the extra allowances they received were wholly insufficient to meet, and it should also be recollected that in the majority of instances they had been obliged, to pay no less than £480 for their commission. He adduced the authority of The Times to show that the maxim that the labourer was worthy of his hire was as applicable to the army as to any other profession, and that men of talent ought not to be excluded from that service because they were not possessed of wealth. He cited individual instances of the privation and hardship to which subalterns were exposed, chiefly owing to the insufficiency of their remuneration. The struggle in which they were continually involved to maintain the style and appearance of gentlemen upon the scantiest pittance rendered their position far less enviable than that of the non-commissioned officer whose pay was more in keeping with his rank. The number of ensigns that 2239 had resigned at the close of the war was fifty-two, irrespective of the number of lieutenants, and this he believed was owing to the inadequacy of the pay and other causes. It might be asked, why should the income of subalterns be increased when there were so many candidates for entrance into the service under the existing scale of pay? To that it might be answered that the excitement of a military life, and the comparatively easy road which it was supposed to offer to personal distinction, led many young men to seek admission to the army. And after they had been in the service some time their parents were unwilling to interfere with their future prospects, and often submitted to severe privation and even to debt to support their sons until they were entitled to promotion. Again, the low pay of the subaltern officer militated very much against the promotion of non-commissioned officers, which he thought was very desirable. He would suggest that an augmentation of 1s. 6d. per day should be made in the pay of the ensigns and lieutenants, and that there should be some addition to their present allowance of furniture, which consisted only of a table, two chairs, and a set of fire-irons. He proposed that an iron bedstead and a chest of drawers should be added, and thus the officer by being enabled to go into barracks at once be saved the expense of previously staying at an inn. The extra pay would amount to £82,826 a year. No doubt that was a large sum; but he was sure that neither the House nor the people at large would wish that these young men, who were ready to shed their blood in defence of their country, should be compelled to live in a state of comparative beggary. It might be said that the subalterns of the continental am-my were not better paid than our own; but they were not by any means in the same category, for they had no mess fund, and they had not to find themselves in clothing or rations. That great financial reformer, the late Mr. Hume, had told him that he would support a Motion of this nature if it should be introduced; and he trusted that the appeal which he now ventured to make to the gallant General opposite as an old soldier would be responded to in a generous spirit. He begged to move the Resolution which he read.

§ MR. P. O'BRIEN
seconded the Motion.

§ SIR WILLIAM FRASER
said, the Motion had his hearty sympathy. He agreed with the hon. Mover that it would be a great boon to subalterns if some good plain furniture were put into the rooms allotted to them, for one of the greatest items of expense to which they were put was in moving their furniture from place to place. At present all that they found in their rooms supplied by Government was a poker, tongs, and fender of oldest fashion, two chairs, and an old table, with a board containing a list of these articles, and a warning—usually a very superfluous one—against damaging them. Three removes, it was said, were as bad as a fire—so that at the end of three marches a subaltern's furniture entirely disappeared. It was a great hardship, too, to call on the subalterns to pay for the band, which they had generally few opportunities of hearing, and which in most cases was more a source of pleasure to the people in the neighbourhood of headquarters than to them. It certainly was to be regretted that they could not return the hospitality which they received from the gentry in their neighbourhood without being put to a great expense. There was no messing in the French army, which he thought was a great disadvantage, since the system of messing contributed more than anything else to keep up the gentlemanly tone which distinguished the officers of the English army; and he thought their pay ought to be such as to enable them to afford the expense. He was sorry that the Motion had been brought on in such a thin House, and so late at night, and he would suggest that the hon. and gallant Gentleman should renew his Motion at a more favourable occasion, when it could be more fully discussed.

SIR FREDERICK SMITH
said, he would not yield to any one in a desire to improve the condition of the officers of the army, but as he thought that the Motion could not be so fully discussed now as its merits demanded, he should move the adjournment of the debate.

§ MR. WESTHEAD
said, he would support the adjournment of the debate, because it was impossible, under existing circumstances, to do justice to the subject, to which he was sure the Secretary for War 2241 would direct his attention during the recess. At the same time, he felt convinced the nation would not grudge a proper amount of remuneration to the British officer.

§ COLONEL FREESTUN
said, that as an hon. and gallant Member had moved the adjournment of the debate, he hoped that the hon. and gallant General (General Peel) would at least give him an assurance that the subject would receive the attention of the Government during the recess. Perhaps the Government would consent to appoint a Commission to inquire into the subject.

GENERAL CODRINGTON
said, he could not but regret that no intimation of the intentions of the Government had fallen from the right hon. and gallant General. He was anxious to state his opinion as to the utter inadequacy of the pay given to subalterns in the British army. It was ludicrous to suppose for a moment that that pay could cover the expenses to which their position necessarily exposed them. Each subaltern ought to be supplied by the Government with an iron bedstead, a chest, a bookcase, and one or two more chairs. All those articles of furniture might be of the commonest description, but they ought to be substantial.

GENERAL PEEL
said, he wished to express his regret, that owing to his unavoidable absence, the hon. and gallant Colonel was on two occasions prevented from submitting his Motion to the House at an earlier period of the Session. It was perfectly impossible at the present period of the Session to enter into the question, which could not be prejudiced by its postponement until next Session, inasmuch as all the Estimates for this year had been agreed to.