ARMY RE-ORGANIZATION—THE SCIENTIFIC CORPS—ROYAL ARTILLERY AND ROYAL ENGINEERS—THE PROMOTIONS.—ADDRESS FOR RETURNS. (Hansard, 1 August 1872)

§ LORD STRATHNAIRN
, who had given Notice to move for Returns showing the effects of the promotions in the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers and the officers of the other Corps, said: My Lords, no one is more opposed than myself to Parliamentary interference in military affairs, but interference becomes a duty, when errors, inherent in a civil government of the Army, and uninfluenced by the opinions of its military head, compromise at times its best interests. Late Sessions afford striking examples of the unfavourable effects of the supreme military authority being vested in the hands of a Minister who, great as may be his eloquence and his ability, has during the whole of his life been unacquainted with a profession which, more than any other, requires experience at the helm. I shall have the honour to submit to your Lordships one example of this great anomaly, because it has strong analogy with the question of supersession, and is appropriate, showing that the inexperience of the head of the War Department led him to adopt a policy fatal to a great Army interest—the soldier's pension, which the experience of the Commander-in-Chief obliged him to oppose; and the 221 example is the more opportune, because the interference of the House of Lords saved the Army from a dilemma. Discussions, my Lords, in and out of Parliament, without end, and the best military opinions, have decided that the policy which gives the greatest expansion in a right direction to the soldier's powers of thought and reflection is the safest guarantee of his moral welfare and his discipline. And it follows, by simple logic, that this desideratum is obtained by pension, which is only given to good soldiers, and which causes a man to reflect for 21 years that good conduct ensures him a happy home and independence; while the contrary, misconduct, entails on him the unenvied existence, the isolation from belongings, and the dependence of the workhouse. Unfortunately, the Secretary of State for War, under the influence of Prussian successes, has become an ardent admirer and advocate of the Prussian system of short service without pension; so much so, that he said in "another place" that it lay at the root of all Army reform; and he was the more enamoured of the system, because it had been calculated that the discontinuance of the pension, and the lump sum of money in hand in lieu of it, at the end of the short service, would enable the right hon. Gentleman to make great savings, which would pay off the heavy cost of retirements hitherto borne by the purchase system. But the knowledge of the illustrious Duke of British and foreign Armies had taught him that a system which was practicable and successful under the Prussian compulsory, involuntary, would be impracticable with its contrast, the English voluntary service. And the Commander-in-Chief also knew that the loss of pension would diminish good recruiting, strike a blow at the discipline and well-being of British troops, and that the lump sum of money given on discharge to soldiers of the peculiar material which composes the British Army—excellent when under proper influences, but not so reliable when freed from them—would close a career, deprived of a great incentive to good pension, with scenes of excesses, destitution, and dependence, discreditable to the service and to the country. His Royal Highness, therefore, far from associating himself with the unqualified enthusiastic praise of short service without pension, invariably 222 characterized it as a "tentative measure;" and afterwards recorded his opposition to it in a compact made in debate in your Lordships' House with Lord Northbrook, in July, 1870, in which he stated that he would vote for the second reading of the Short Service Act on the understanding that it was to run pari passû—co-exist—with the Long Service Act and pension. For the sake of the conciliation and good understanding which it is so desirable should exist between Parliament and Her Majesty's Government, I shall not follow further the course of this affair, and shall only say—what it is indispensable should be said, that afterwards an official Order, not emanating from the illustrious Duke, discontinued enlistment under the Long Service Act and pension. With my impression as to the ruinous consequences to the Army of the loss of pension, I made frequent appeals to the representatives of the War Department in your Lordships' House, supported efficaciously by noble Lords, but most especially so by the noble Marquess (the Marquess of Salisbury), and finally, as the Session was drawing to a close, solicited a conversation with Lord Northbrook in the Library, in which I made another effort for the restoration of the pension. To my great satisfaction, the noble Lord then informed me that a General Order would shortly be issued, restoring the Long Service Act with pension. I am glad to have this opportunity of recording my sense of the courtesy and frankness with which the noble Lord, whose ability we have so often admired in debate, conducted his relations with me in and out of this House. This brief history of the pension, my Lords, is an appropriate preface to, and throws a light on the question of supersession now before the House. Both questions evince misconception of military interests and feeling. The one of pension—the sure and best guarantee of the soldier's discipline, and a reward of his long and good service; the other an equal disregard of the rights of promotion and feelings of the officers. The attitude of the Commander-in-Chief has points of analogy in both cases. His Royal. Highness's objections were decided as to the discontinuance of the pension. In the case of supersession, His Royal Highness preferred retirement to the measure of the Government. And how, my Lords, could the Commander-in-Chief 223 approve a supersession which blighted the esprit de corps, which His Royal Highness has so often told your Lordships is the corner-stone of the Army's devotion and success?—a supersession which, at the moment I speak, has discouraged the esprit de corps of some 600 captains of the Guards, Line, and Royal Marines, all of tried qualifications; 27 of whom have passed the Staff College examination; many wounded or mentioned in despatches for good and gallant service before the enemy; half-a-dozen with Victoria Crosses, and numerous others with medals for campaigns—such as Captain O'Connor, V.C., of the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who has 18 years' service, was severely wounded at the Alma when carrying the Queen's colour, which he planted on the redoubt after being wounded, and was thanked by General Sir George Brown and General—now Sir William—Codrington on the field. Captain O'Connor was also dangerously wounded at the Redan, he was present throughout the Indian Mutiny War, and wears the Victoria Cross, Crimean medal and two clasps, Sardinian and Turkish medals, the Medjidie and the Indian Mutiny War medal with two clasps. Captain Farquharson, V.C., of the 42nd Royal Highlanders, has 17 years' service and served in the Crimea with his regiment, also throughout the Indian Mutiny War; received the Victoria Cross at Lucknow for storming a bastion, and mounting two guns, which he spiked, and where he was severely wounded. He wears the Victoria Cross, Crimean medal with clasp, Turkish medal, and Indian Mutiny War medal with clasp. Captain Butler, V.C., of the 101st Royal Bengal Fusiliers, who has 18 years' service, served throughout the Indian Mutiny War; was present at the storm and capture of Delhi, where he was slightly wounded, and at the storm and capture of Lucknow; here he swam the Goomtee under a heavy fire, and inspected the entrenchments, for which he received the Victoria Cross; also, during the subsequent operations in Oude. He also served in the Indian North-Western Frontier War, and at Umbeyla. He wears the Victoria Cross, the Indian Mutiny War medal with two clasps, and the Indian War medal with two clasps. Captain Home, 25th Regiment, who has 21 years' service and passed the Staff College, was present as 224 adjutant of the 48th Regiment in the Crimea, where he was wounded at Sebastopol; wears the Crimean medal with clasp, the Turkish medal, and Medjidie. Captain Law, of the 103rd Regiment, who has served 26 years, served in the Punjab campaign, at the storming of Mooltan, where he was wounded; present at the Battle of Goojerat and pursuit of the Affghans to the Khyber, and in the Indian Mutiny War; wears Punjab medal, with two clasps, and Indian Mutiny War medal. Captain Kinsman, of the Royal Marines, who has served 27 years, and is Instructor of Gunnery, was present with the Baltic Expedition in 1854, and in the China Expedition in 1857–9; wears Baltic medal and China medal, with clasp. Captain Kelly, of the 60th Rifles, promoted from the ranks, who has served 18 years, was present with his regiment as adjutant when the 60th so greatly distinguished itself during the siege of Delhi, and throughout the operations in the Indian Mutiny War, and subsequently as brigade major to a movable column in Oude; wears Indian Mutiny War medal and clasp. I can say from personal knowledge that he is a most efficient and valuable officer, and well worthy of a higher rank. The more military the feeling of an officer, the greater his honourable ambition for distinction at any sacrifice of health and life; the better his qualifications and his field services, the more acutely does he feel the mortification of a vast promotion given over his head to juniors, who, ardently as they wished it, never had the opportunity of seeing active service. Supersession hurts the material interests as well as the feelings of officers. Their juniors obtain the increased pay and better employment consequent on higher rank. It frequently occurs that in consequence of the varied and fitful currents of promotion, a step, especially from captain to major, often enables an officer to attain the higher grade, and consequent better employment, years before those of the same standing. Striking instances of this occurred on my own general and personal Staff. One, a captain, by receiving a brevet majority for good service in the field, became a general officer with a very high staff appointment 10 years before his contemporaries. The other, also a captain, and having received a brevet majority for service in the field in 1865, 225 will now, in 1872, shortly become, in the ordinary course of promotion, a lieutenant-colonel; whereas, if he had not been promoted to a brevet majority, he would at this moment have been a captain in his regiment. Officers of one regiment do not object to the regular promotion of another regiment, however rapid and superseding incidental circumstances may make it, such as promotion for field service, casualties in action, deaths from bad climates. But they do view with regret and mistrust supersession en masse by the War Office, to which the Commander-in-Chief cannot give his adhesion because he prefers another scheme. When I say this, I most readily state that officers of the Ordnance Corps have in individual cases of exceptional promotion been superseded by officers very much their juniors. But to place the whole blame of this grievance on the Guards and Line is one of those cases of injustice and mystification which mask this question, and of which I shall lift the veil immediately. I shall not now enter into the complicated question to what extent this disadvantage has been compensated by the higher pay of Ordnance officers, no outlay for purchase or sacrifice of purchase-money hereafter, and finally by the retiring allowance of £600 a-year, given annually to a certain number of colonels, which is nearly double the full-pay retirement to the rest of the Army. To the Royal Engineers another advantageous career is opened—the Board of Works, which runs pari passû with their Engineer duties. This part, this aspect of the question of supersession—I mean the grievances suffered by the Ordnance Corps from supersession by the Guards and Line, and the omission to notice or to remedy other and principal causes of those grievances—brings prominently to light serious responsibilities incurred by Her Majesty's Government. It is perfectly well-known in the service that these causes are defects in the organization of the Ordnance Corps, one of which, good authorities think, one cause is the vast length of line, the concentration of the immense body of officers in one regiment, along which promotion must travel; and all are agreed that the other cause is the result of organic defect—stagnation—which has aggravated, if it has not altogether given rise to those grievances of which the War Office has, 226 very unjustly, placed the whole blame on the purchase system of the Guards and Line. While these grievances were proclaimed with a flourish of trumpets, and re-echoed by nearly the whole of the Press with military precision throughout the country, not a word was said as to the real, but unavowed, culprits, the organic defects; and so complete was the mystification, that a well-timed Motion of my noble and gallant Friend (Lord Abinger), which would have brought to light the organic defects, was met with that curt refusal which is so often given to just but unpalatable inquiry. The Press, however, is in no way whatever to blame for these one-sided impressions. They, like the public, were kept in the dark. The House of Commons' Select Committee of 1867, admirably composed of Members of all parties, after a sitting of two months, recommended a well-devised retirement as the best remedy for removal of stagnation and increase of efficiency of officers of the Ordnance Corps and Royal Marines. And the illustrious Duke, in the debate of the 18th of June, stated his preference of retirement to the scheme of the Government. It is as clear that retirement relieves stagnation as that the removal of a dam sets free the current of a stream, and I say this on the authority of every Royal Commission and every Artillery officer who has given evidence since 1825. But the Government, in disregard of the opinions of the Commander-in-Chief, adopted the course exactly opposed to these opinions, and, instead of holding out inducements to officers to retire, hold out the strongest inducements in the way of increased rank and pay to stand fast, of which the natural consequence, and one universally predicted, is that the remedial measure of the Government will increase the evil of stagnation. Therefore, as the noble Marquess (the Marquess of Lansdowne) stated in his speech that the present supersession was the remedy for stagnation, we have before us the agreeable prospect a few years hence of another supersession for another stagnation. I have always been in favour of the commander of a battery holding the rank of a field-officer; but the last of my thoughts was, that this promotion should be effected by a vast selection disfigured by a vast supersession, in dereliction of the Secretary of State's formal promise 227 on the abolition of purchase and privileges of promotion that for the future promotion in the Army was to be conducted on a principle of perfect equality. But is it not, my Lords, a mockery to call promotion an equality which places A, who has never seen service and was junior to and under the orders of B in one month, over B in the next month, who has been wounded, honourably mentioned, and decorated for devoted and distinguished service in the field? In the cloud which, under these circumstances, darkens the future of officers, it is a source of lively satisfaction to see the appearance of a silver lining in the generous sentiments recently expressed to me by three distinguished officers of the Ordnance Corps. The gist of what they said is that, as the new promotion of the Army is to be conducted on a principle of even-handed justice, they would wish that an equivalent to their promotion should be given to the other branches. I sincerely hope that opinions, which, I am well assured, prevail among such a high-spirited body as the Royal Engineers and Royal Artillery, may be shared by Her Majesty's Government. The financial sacrifice of giving brevet majorities to the superseded officers would be small; the assertion of the rights of equality of promotion and of the interests of officers would be invaluable. In reply to a question from the Royal Commission on Military Education, before whom I had been called to give evidence, I stated that the best guarantee of just selection of officers as a reward for merit would be honourable mention in despatches, or any reliable evidence of good conduct in the field or efficiency, and finally, the repeated recommendation at half-yearly inspections by the inspecting general, the commanding officer, and the General Commanding-in-Chief. I asked for all these Reports; but it was objected that one category was confidential, which I do not consider a valid objection, as the heading "confidential" only covers unfavourable, not favourable Reports. I now hear that exception is to be taken to the production of the other category. I shall, therefore, leave on the Government the responsibility of withholding Reports from your Lordships which would have proved how many superseded officers had come up to the standard which I had proposed for selection, and how unmerited 228 were the comparisons drawn by the noble Marquess between branches of the service. For, my Lords, without entering into the meshes of legal niceties, the plain and unmistakable meaning of the noble Marquess's language was a comparison between the officers of the Ordnance Corps and the Guards and Line, unfavourable to the latter; and he also produced statistics to show that the opinions of the Members of your Lordships' House, in and connected with the Army, who had voted for a Royal Commission of Inquiry, were influenced by bias. If the noble Marquess had thought of the emblems on the colours of British regiments, given for successes by an almost matchless leader, so military and so impartial that he never granted a badge but for a real victory, successes which decided the greatest events, perhaps, in the world's history, won by the three arms, hand-in-hand, in inseparable union, he would not have thrown down an apple of discord, nor have depreciated by comparisons and regrettable statistics services which live under the imperishable recollections of their union and success. Comparisons are not to be thought of; each arm, in its turn, has its scenes and hour of danger and distinction; and that Engineer and Artillery have their full share of both is well known to every military Member of your Lordships' House. To show how utterly impossible it is that myself or any noble Lord of military experience can be influenced by unfavourable bias to the Ordnance Corps, I can only say that I owe the coveted, the distinguished honour of a seat in your Lordships' House equally to my whole Force, and to none more am I indebted than to Artillery and Engineers. How great these obligations are will be shown by extracts from my despatches, which evidence the warmest expressions of my feeling for them and of my approval— Captain Neville, of the Royal Engineers, who volunteered to act as my aide-de-camp the night he arrived in my camp, was killed by a shell bursting on his head the next day, while reporting to me the delivery of an order at the action of Baroda, in which I had to engage to prevent the enemy from cutting me off from Saugor, which I was ordered to relieve. Lieutenants Dick and Micklejohn, of the Bombay Engineers, were killed at the top of the scaling ladders—not the bottom, my lords—up which they were leading the storming parties at Jhansi. Lieutenant Colonel Turnbull, Bombay Artillery, was killed by musketry tire from the roofs of the houses in the 229 streets of Jhansi, where he had gone to choose a position for his battery to batter the Palace and part of the town not taken. Lieutenant Prendergast, Madras Engineers, was dangerously wounded in the action of the Betwa, when the enemy wished to leave Jhansi. He obtained the Victoria Cross. Then there is honourable mention of the Eagle Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, for invariable gallant conduct, but particularly when a division of guns was ordered to enfilade the enemy's left. One gun of the division was knocked over by a round shot, and the other, by its excellent enfilading fire, so shook the enemy that the turning movement against me was prevented, and I was able to turn the whole line. Again, my despatches contain— Special mention of the 21st Company, Royal Engineers, whom at Calpee I was obliged, on account of the reduced state of my Force, to use as a company in the first line, and of whom I said in my despatches that 'they fought as well in the field as they worked in the trenches, and were worthy of their distinguished corps.' Traits of feeling which mark the best of friendships—the friendship of the field, show how great was the esteem which existed between these officers and myself. Lieutenant Dick, as he mounted the scaling ladders, said—"I will now show Sir Hugh Rose my gratitude;" Colonel Turnbull, just before he died, expressed as his last wish a desire to "shake hands" with me; and Captain Neville, with a presentiment of his death, expressed a wish that "his sword should be delivered to his family." I carried this sword through all the difficulties of the campaign, till on my return march to Bombay it was stolen from under my head, when I was asleep, by the professional thieves so numerous in India. My Lords, I think these instances will show that I can have no unfavourable bias towards the Ordnance Corps. The Motion of which I have given Notice is, that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty for, Returns— Firstly, Of all lieutenants and captains of the Foot Guards, captains of Cavalry, Infantry, and Royal Marines (Light Infantry), and captains and second captains of Royal Marines (Artillery), who will be superseded by the promotion of captains of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers to the rank of major; showing the length of service, and in what rank, of the officers thus superseded: Secondly, Of the names of all officers thus superseded who have been wounded, mentioned in despatches, reports, or letters to superior authority for good service in the field, who are in possession of a medal or medals, or other decoration, and for what service, or who have been reported on favourably, or recommended as adjutants, or in any appointment on the staff, or brought to notice for good conduct when giving aid to the 230 civil power, or on any other occasion, or for sending in useful plans of country or reconnaissance reports, or who have passed the staff college examination, or gone through the prescribed course of instruction at one of the schools of musketry, or have qualified in telegraphy, &c. &c. I shall, however, not press the latter portion of the Motion, for I believe the Government are not disposed to grant this information, and I do not think it right to trouble your Lordships to divide. The noble and gallant Lord then moved the Address in accordance with his Notice.

§ THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE
said, he must decline to follow the noble and gallant Lord in those passages of his speech in which he dealt with the respective merits of long and short service. The subject was one on which the noble and gallant Lord spoke with great authority, but it was scarcely relevant to the Motion on the Paper. He must enter his protest, however, against the repeated introduction by the noble and gallant Lord of the name of His Royal Highness the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief as an advocate of the views which the noble and gallant Lord had expressed. The Motion had stood for some time on the Paper, and he could not help regretting that the noble and gallant Lord should not have brought it forward before the departure of His Royal Highness from this country; but those who listened to the judicial summing-up of the illustrious Duke, delivered from the cross benches, would agree that nothing could be less one-sided than his remarks on that occasion. As to the Motion, he was glad the noble and gallant Lord had withdrawn the latter part of it, which asked for voluminous Returns touching on confidential matters not usually included in Returns made to Parliament. With regard to the earlier part of the Motion, however, the Government would be glad to supply the information asked for, and no one was more entitled to demand that information than the noble and gallant Lord. Widely divergent statements had been made as to the amount and extent of the supersession, and he should be glad to supply the noble and gallant Lord with information which would show him that his estimate a little exceeded the mark; for in calculating the extent of the supersession, two factors must be borne in mind—the number of officers 231 superseded, and the number of officers by whom they were superseded. He proposed, therefore, to add to the Return another column supplying this information. He proposed, also, to add a Return showing the converse case—the extent to which the Ordnance Corps had been superseded by the Guards and the Line; because, with all deference to the experience of the noble and gallant Lord, he could not agree with him in thinking that in this case the grievance was entirely one-sided. The noble and gallant Lord had quoted several instances of supersession on his side, but plenty of instances might be quoted on the other side. For example, there was the case of a captain of over 27 years' service, who went through the whole of the Punjab Campaign and the Indian Mutiny, when he was wounded; yet who, until this change was made, still remained a captain. There were three other instances—an officer of 22 years' service, and two others of 20 years' service, who served, with distinction, throughout the Crimean Campaign, and still remained captains. He did not deny that there was supersession; but he believed that if all the circumstances were considered, it was not of a nature or an extent to create any real hardship to the officers concerned. As for the information which the noble and gallant Lord desired, it would be given by the Government with perfect confidence that it would not be detrimental to their case.

VISCOUNT MELVILLE
, while he acknowledged that supersession was a necessity of the new system, contended that there was no reason why officers of the same standing and length of service should have been superseded in the manner of which his noble and gallant Friend complained. It would cost very little to have done all that justice required, and thus to have avoided creating that disagreeable feeling which the promotions of the officers of the Scientific Corps had engendered in the breasts of those who saw themselves superseded. The late Lord Herbert had established what was called a Reserve Fund, which came out of the pockets of the officers of the purchase corps; but, instead of that fund being appropriated to the benefit of those who had contributed to it, it went to provide retirement for the officers of the Artillery and Engineers. No Return with respect to the fund had 232 ever been made. Seeing that the country had derived so much benefit from the Reserve Fund, great dissatisfaction had been created in consequence of those officers not having obtained rank according to their length of service, and he thought that fund might be equitably used to provide justice in the cases complained of.