cases do the officers commanding volunteer infantry brigades inspect the battalions under their commands. 7. Finance. The financial arrangements of different corps differ so widely that it is not easy to speak generally on the subject. The income is derived from government allowances usually supplemented by subscriptions from the officers, sometimes from the men, and frequently from friends, who for this purpose are enrolled as honorary members, and thus obtain certain privileges. These allowances are set out in detail on pp. 131 and 132 of the volunteer regulations. Putting aside travelling allowances, the average private, who makes himself efficient, earns for his corps the annual sum of £1 18s. An officer who has passed in tactics and signalling, and who holds a certificate of proficiency, can earn a yearly sum of £7 5s., which, as he pays for his uniform, &c., is a clear gain to the corps. Out of the income so derived the following military expenses are expected to be met : (1) Rent and maintenance of headquarters, armouries,1 ranges, &c. (2) Uniform, accoutrements, and equipment of non-commissioned officers and privates. (3) Paid band. (4) All travelling expenses not provided for under special allowances. (5) Postage and stationery in addition to that allowed. These items must evidently vary in different corps. Some, for instance, have merely nominal rents to pay for headquarters, to others the cost amounts to some hundreds a year. It is calculated, however, that by the exercise of a most rigid economy, and by skilful management of finance, the government grants will just cover the absolutely necessary requirements of average corps. But as a matter of fact By the decision, February 1893, in Pearson, 2nd Middlesex A.V. v. the Holborn Union it was held that volunteer storehouses occupied exclusively for volunteer purposes are exempt from all local rates. every corps does look outside for financial assistance of some kind, and many depend upon it very largely. The large drill halls which belongs to whole corps in London and the large towns, and the smaller ones to be found in so many smaller towns and villages in the country for the use of the scattered companies, have been all paid for by private subscription. There are cases in which over £20,000 has been raised by a single corps for this purpose. The whole amount of capital spent on the formation of drill halls and ranges up to 1887 was no less than £538,537. The present amounts of the capitation grants were fixed after consideration of the report of Lord Harris' Committee in 1887, although not exactly in accordance with the recommendations contained in it. Financial arrangements are amongst the great difficulties with which commanding officers have to deal, the more so that they are personally responsible for sums expended not in exact accordance with regulation, and for debts incurred. 8. Duties in aid of the Civil Power. The volunteers as such are not liable to be called upon by the civil power to act as a military body in the preservation of peace. Like other citizens, however, they are bound when called upon to act as special constables in their individual capacities. Since special constables elect their own officers, it is inevitable that they would be formed into units commanded by those they are accustomed to obey, a fact which adds enormously to their value. Usually they would be armed with the constable's staff only. In cases of "serious and dangerous riots and disturbances," however, and in cases where their storehouses and armouries are attacked, they may be called upon by the civil authority to arm themselves with and use "other weapons suitable to the occasion." 390 CHAPTER XXIV. THE WAR OFFICE. THE War Office is the medium through which the Secretary of State exercises his functions as administrator of the military system of the British Empire. It may be called the focus of the military administration. The Secretary of State has responsibilities in various directions. He is responsible to the Crown that the military forces and land defences of the kingdom are efficient. He is responsible to the Treasury that money is not spent except in accordance with principles which have been approved by that department; and lastly, he is responsible to Parliament, first, that he obtain a proper force, second, that the estimates of that force are made with due regard to economy, and thirdly, that the expenditure accords with the votes. Although he is not responsible for the formation of the local forces of the several colonies, he is often required to provide commanders for them; and in time of war they would probably drop into places in the general scheme of warfare under the War Office. 1. Historical sketch of the growth of the War Office. Viewed historically, the War Office is the confluence of many streams of authority which have grown up from small beginnings as the military power of the nation has developed. To trace the history of all the streams would require a volume, and there would be little advantage in the result. A very slight sketch must here suffice. Omitting minor services, the three great departments of command, pay, and supplies may be dealt with. These must have been represented in some way even in the earliest armies; and in the great expeditions of Edward III. and Henry V., when feudal dispersion was in course of gradual replacement by concentration under the royal authority, the germs from which later offices have sprung make a feeble appearance. There were, however, no standing armies then maintained, and the administration organized for a campaign died out with the disbandment of the troops after its completion. Apparently the oldest of the military offices was that of the Ordnance. Arms were necessary for the king's troops: and the earliest troops to be maintained by the king would naturally have been the artillery, which included the gunners, the archers, and the cross-bowmen. The chief gunner, under whatever title he commanded, was the first such officer having some sort of a permanent department under him. Richard III. had a Master of the Ordnanceone Rauf Bigod—and a little later Henry VIII, constituted a Board of Ordnance with a Lieutenant, a Surveyor, a Storekeeper, and a Clerk to help the Master. James I., in 1604, gave the Master the title of Master-General. With an organization little altered, but much expanded, the Board of Ordnance continued to supply warlike stores, and to command the artillery and engineers, down to the commencement of the war with Russia in 1854. It was finally dissolved in 1855.1 A Pay, though irregular enough in early times, was as important as equipment; and the duties of Secretary-atWar developed with the growth of standing armies. branch of the office of the then only Secretary of State did the work in the time of the Tudors. A separate War Office was constituted about 1620, under a Committee of the Privy Council, the clerk to the Committee being called the Secretaryat-War. From that time his office grew in importance; and the power of the purse gave him a predominant weight in military matters; although he had no direct jurisdiction over either the Commander-in-Chief or Board of Ordnance. This office of Secretary-at-War was conferred, in February 1855, on Lord Panmure, when he took the seals as Secretary of 1 For early history of the Ordnance, see also chap. xiii. State for War. It never after had a separate existence; and was abolished in 1863 by Act of Parliament. The office of Commander-in-Chief-sometimes designated Captain-General, Generalissimo, or Officer Commanding-inChief-had many breaks of continuity from the time of General Monk-the Duke of Albemarle of the Restoration-to 1793, since which year it has been continuously held. It has always been, in a general way, under the control of the Secretary of State, who was responsible for the exercise of the royal prerogative; but it was only under an Order in Council of 1870 that the Commander-in-Chief's position was clearly defined. Avoiding any detailed history, it will now suffice to glance at the military administration of the country at a few successive dates. In 1757 the following authorities existed : : (1) Commissioners of Chelsea Hospital. (2) Paymaster-General of the Forces, with a deputy in Parliament. (4) Ordnance Office, under the Master-General (a peer), with a Lieu- (5) Commander-in-Chief. The military administration was thus represented by eight seats in the House of Commons. In 1793, the great war with France had broken out, and the necessity for some centralization in war matters was evidently felt; for in that year the then Home Secretary, Mr. Dundas, was relieved of his home and colonial duties, and was created Secretary of State for War. He does not appear to have had any control over details, which were still carried out by numerous departments, but the appointment was a distinct advance as regards concentration of responsibility. In 1797 the military administration comprised (1) Secretary of State, in Parliament. (2) Commander-in-Chief. (3) Secretary-at-War, in Parliament. (4) Two Paymaster-Generals, both in Parliament. All were essentially separate offices. There was rather an increase than a decrease in the complexity of organization during the long war which ended in 1815. In that year the following distinct offices existed : (1) Secretary of State for Colonies and War. (2) Commander-in-Chief's Office. |