They are to be Genius is heaven-born. Strategy, tactics, and all else must give way on occasion. A general must understand rules and principles, but not be the slave of them. Neither rules nor principles require the term of a life to learn. He must have moral and physical courage, and ready aptitude to apply his resources. These qualifications are somewhat akin to genius. cultivated, though not to the best advantage under dry routine. The India Government has seldom the power of selection from generals who have commanded divisions. It is limited to select between commanders of regiments, and men who, like Generals Patrick Grant and Cheape, and Colonels Tucker and Birch, though of known ability, not only never led a regiment into action, but never commanded one for a day.* Or the selection may be extended to a third class, to men distinguished in youth as soldiers, but afterwards employed as civilians; to the Broadfoots, Edwardes', Lakes, Bechers, and Nicholsons of India; to the Hardinges, Raglans, and Cathcarts of the Royal Army. The importance of the subject tempts us again to quote Jomini: : "A general instructed in theory, but destitute of coup d'œil, of sang froid, and of skill, may make a fine strategic plan, but fail in every law of tactics when he finds himself in presence of an enemy. His projects will then vanish, his defeat become probable. If he has force of character, he may diminish the bad results of his check: if he loses his head, he will lose his army." Few soldiers in India have witnessed much strategy; but many have witnessed the failure of tactics in the presence of the enemy, aye, and every day witness it on their own parade grounds, when "adjutants' regiments" in the hands of routine lieutenant-colonels and majors, even though they may "have never been on leave for a day for thirty years," are clubbed up and tortured in every conceivable way. [The men who never go on * General Grant is the exception, but the corps was irregular. QUALIFICATIONS FOR COMMAND. 453 leave are not the best officers. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.] The card system fails. The man who never reflected in his life cannot be expected to reflect on an emergency. An inequality or contraction of ground puts him out; the unexpected appearance of a crabbed brigadier flusters him; the whirlwind rush of a Sir Charles Napier down the line, frightens him out of his senses; cards, manuals, catechisms, and all other helps are forgotten, and the unhappy field officer is like 'a babe in a wood.' He loses his senses, and is alike the laughing-stock of his sable soldiers, and of his younger countrymen. Is such a man, and there are scores of them, the fitting leader of a brigade through the Bolan or the Khybur; up the Persian Gulf, or to China or Burmah? Yet they are the men so sent, daily so selected. Can such men be expected to preserve their senses in the presence of the enemy? That such men have not lost armies is no fault of the present system, but is attributable to the courage and skill of subordinates, and to the Ikbal of the company. But let not Providence be too long tempted. Rome lost her Legions when commanded by generals who were soldiers only in name. Napoleon's words to his brother Louis at Toulon apply to our argument. Standing in midst of the corpses of 200 grenadiers slain through the ignorance of their commander, at the assault of an impregnable side of Fort Phuron, he observed, "If I had commanded here, all these brave men would be still alive. Learn Louis, from this example, how absolutely necessary instruction is to those who aspire to command others." We have dwelt so much on the mischiefs of routine and strict seniority, and on the evils of having decrepit or incapable officers at the head of troops, that it behoves us to offer some remedy for present evils. We know that the seniority system cannot be uprooted altogether, nor indeed do we desire to uproot it. Seniority must be the basis of Indian promotion, but seniority may be, and must be, helped over the stile. As In the first place, then, let us earnestly deprecate the threatened closing of the invalid establishment. Sir George Pollock deposed before the Lords, it has often been grossly abused, but so have other establishments. Army head-quarters, and the doctors between them, ought to be able to prevent gross abuses. Invalid officers ought to be employed, as they usually have been at Madras and Bombay, in duties commensurate with their powers. It is by leaving them as gentlemen at large that malingering is encouraged. Our objection to the abrogation of the establishment is, on the double ground that present incumbents have a sort of right to its advantages, and that it is a safe outlet for incapables. This latter is surely a substantial reason for its maintenance. What matter, whether a man be unwilling or unable, so that he do not perform his duty? His disease may be real, though not apparent. It is, indeed, a grievous disease, to prefer idleness and inaction to moderate work. It is surely then better to shelve such diseased gentlemen in small civil posts, requiring only an hour or two's daily work,* than to have them at the head of companies or regiments. In garrison duty, with veterans, commanded by good officers, they may also earn their bread. We pray then the authorities to let the invalids stand, but to employ them as above suggested. The alternative is to allow invalid officers to cumber the regular ranks. Commanding officers are men with bowels, and such men will not drive respect Few such sinecures exist in India; but our argument is, that there are quasi-civil posts which in different soldiers may creditably fill. Pay and pension and post offices are among them. able incompetents, with families, out of their corps, to starvation. The pension establishment, in lieu of the invalids, would be starvation to many. But we have a more substantive proposal to make. A scheme for an unattached list for the armies of India, prepared with a view to relieve the service from the weight of seniority, now lies before us, and as far as goes, it seems well suited to effect the object. We therefore notice it at length. it First, let us glance at the measures which have been adopted by the Court of Directors during the last twenty-five years, to improve the condition of their officers. In 1832, the Court expressed themselves desirous of remedying the then stagnant state of promotion, and of providing for the comfort of their officers on retirement. They intimated their willingness cordially to encourage the institution of retiring funds, and informed Government that they were prepared to bear the increased charge of retired pay that would be consequent upon the establishment of funds at the three Presidencies. They sanctioned the remittance of the retired officers' annuities through their treasury, at the rate of two shillings the Sicca rupee, and the grant of six per cent. per annum, on the balances of the several funds. The number of retirements, however, were limited to 24 per annum, for the three Presidencies, and the amount of the annuities to be given in each year was fixed at £7750. Schemes for retiring funds were prepared, but none were approved of. After waiting a reasonable period, the Court resolved themselves to provide for the object contemplated, by enlarging the retiring regulations. This was effected in 1836. Officers were then for the first time permitted to retire after certain fixed periods of service instead of, as formerly, according to their rank. In 1837 these new regulations were still further Artillery enlarged, and a colonel's pension was sanctioned for all officers, whatever might be their rank, after 32 years of actual service in India; lieutenant-colonel's pension, after 28 years; major's pension, after 24 years; and captain's pension after 20 years. This enlargement of the retiring regulations was not productive of any real advantage to the service. Mr. Philip Melvill, in his evidence before the Lords in 1852, says "The first and great effect (of the new system of retirement) has been to soothe the feelings of the officers with regard to the rate of their retiring pension; they know that, however unfortunate they may be as compared with others in regimental rise, a fixed rate of pension is secured to them; the healing effect of this change has been most beneficial." He further says, "The number of retirements is increasing, as a necessary consequence of the additions made from time to time to the number of European officers, but the percentage is much the same; it is less than two per cent. from all causes, whether retiring on full or half pay, or resigning without any pay, and it has been much the same for the last thirty years." He gives the number of officers who are entitled to retire on full pay at 1098, of whom 557 are entitled to retire on the pay of a rank superior to that which they had actually attained. The aggregate establishment of European officers in 1834, he states to have been 4084, and 5142 in 1852. We give below an abstract* return, showing the * Abstract return of retirements in the Bengal army from 1834 to 1853, showing the branch of the service to which the retired officers belonged. Cavalry Infantry Irregular Cavalry unattached. Ordnance Commissariat department . |