History of the British Standing Army. A.D. 1660 to 1700

crastination indeed was the rule,2294 but when the Secretary-atWar did bestir himself he meddled in other people's business, and did such foolish acts as, for instance, to contract for horseshoes to be sent to the army without any nails.2295

2296

To enumerate all the short-comings of the civilians connected with military affairs would take a volume to itself; and the studious reader will be able to gather from what has been now said, and from previous chapters, that the mainspring of the wide-spread abuses in our army and the source of all its trailing dragging lack of system, its unsoldierly as well as unbusinesslike incapacity, in the seventeenth century, was not any faultiness in its material, but the want of a proper head with proper powers and due experience. It is not within the intention of this work to point out how far this evil still exists (even if in a less glaring though equally mischievous form), or to discuss the remedy; 2296 it is sufficient to cast the light of history on the matter, a light so bright that he that runs may read, and may readily draw his own conclusions.

The tree may be lopped and pruned and grafted and watered; but if the mischief is at its very root, if the worm is at its very core, all this is a waste of money and labour; and the tree will continue to cumber the ground fruitlessly, and in due time a tempest will hurl it to the earth, to the ruin and confusion of those who blindly trusted in the shelter of so rotten a thing.

of his account for sick and wounded in the last Dutch war; minuted "21 April, 66 1684, to have a little longer patience."

Petitions, 1691, and April, 1692, to Lords of Treasury, of the distressed widows, masters, owners, and others concerned in the transport-ships employed in the reduction of Ireland, that their whole substance was exhausted in that service, praying for relief, &c. ; all Try. state papers.

Representation, 1691, of the Commissioners appointed by Their Majesties for settling the accounts of the army; Clarke MSS.

What accounts are wanting in relation to the Army, 1694; Harl. MSS. 7,018. And a host of other authorities.

2294 The history of the commencement of each campaign, whether in Ireland or in the Netherlands, is filled with accounts of the procrastination of the civil government. 2295 Letter, Camp, Cork, 29 Septr., 1690, Schravemoer to Clarke.

2296 See also previous Chapters, especially on Finance and Supplies.

The Treasury State Papers abound with instances of pecuniary and other mal-administration.

2296a A remedy has been attempted to be applied within these two last years (1889-90) by a change of the Staff system in Districts, and by a line of delimitation between the functions of the Secry. of State and those of the Commander-in-Chief. But already the objects of the former have been baulked by the endeavours of the several departments affected (Artillery, Engineers, Medical, Ordnance Stores, &c.) to free themselves from any centralised local control; while the second is beginning even now to form a battle-ground of contest between the military and civil "sides" of the War Office-the arbiter being a civilian politician.

In 1684, the offices of the Paymaster-General,297 of the Commissary-General, and of the Secretary-at-War were "kept "at the Horse-Guard" in Whitehall.

The reader must now be supposed to be thoroughly initiated into the details of all the several branches of the Service as they existed at the period to which this volume has been confined: and it will, therefore, in future volumes be necessary only to recount, in addition to the actions in the field, the different changes and modifications in administration and organisation as they occurred, without entering into such full detail as has been requisite in this opening volume.2298

END OF VOLUME I.*

2297 Chamberlayne.

2298 The Author will feel greatly indebted to any readers who will kindly point

out to him any errors in this work.

See fly-leaf attached to Prefatory Chapter.

APPENDIX A

COPIES OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE DOCUMENTS QUOTED IN THIS APPENDIX, OR GIVEN in extenso IN THE TEXT.

NOTE.--Roman numerals (alone) refer to the No. of the Appendix. Roman numerals followed by figures in a parenthesis refer to the Chapter and Note where the quotation will be found.