SPOILS OF WAR

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 270, 28 August 1935, Page 8

SPOILS OF WAR

CUSTOM THROUGH ACES. ‘ 'SOUYENIR S” TO-DAY. In bygone daysi in Great Britain and the rest of Europe, a king and his Court were mainly supported by supplies requisitioned from the people, and when the king made even a peaceful progress through his Dominions the royal purveyors who went ahead of the royal party took by force any provisions, . forage, horses or wagons needed for the monarch’s use, and many and bitter were the complaints of the exactions practised by these men, although they were supposed to make some small return in money lor what that had commandeered (writes Flinders Barr in the “Sydney Morning Herald”). This was one of the heaviest grievances of the earlier ages. If this kind of thing went on in England in time of peace, one may imagine what happened abroad in time of war, when it was the custom for a hostile army to' live, on the territory of the enemy, taking by force everything that could be found in the way of forage or food, and leaving the wretched inhabitants to starve. Nothing like a modern Army Service Corps or a Commissariat Department had been evolved. Gervase Markham in his “Souldiers’ Manual,” a work published in London in the seventeenth century, says: “The forrage-master-general is a principal dependant upon the lord' marshal of the army.” This forage-master’s duty was to take a party of troops out with horses and wagons and secure what forage and food supplies he could find in the surrounding country. Another quaintly-named officer accompanied the armies of other days, called the “proviat-master-general,” who was the commissary of provisions, and afterwards developed' into a commissariat officer. He had the superintendence and issuing of all .rations in his charge, though his duties overlapped those of the forage-master occasionally. Thus the proviat-master-general had instructions to take under liis care and protection all the mills in the neighbourhood of his camp, so that he might easily get his corn ground, probably he would also “take under his protection” any corn found in the said mill. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when a large number of English troops were on active service in Holland helping the Dutch against the Spanish, a very dangerous system of rationing was introduced “a newe invention never before heard of amongst men of warre, and this was that) instead© of pay with money, the souldiers should be paid in provand, which was bread and cheese, and other such victuall of the clieape and basest sort.” As may lie imagined the experiment was an utter failure, the men selling their surplus food directly it" was issued to them, and starving afterwards. Singular Altruism. ■ There is a curious story of a. foraging party sent out from a camp one day in a hostile country, to get what they could; it was just when the wheat was ripe, and some few miles away they met an ancient farmer, whom the officer ordered to show them the best field of ripe torn thereabout. The old man led them a little way, passing what seemed to be some fine fields on either side of the road and then showed them the field ho suggested they should cut. Before leaving, however, the officer asked the peasant why he had chosen this particular field, as it seemed no better, if as good as others they had passed. “Because the others belong to my neighbours, but this one is mine,” said the noble old man. This story sounds almost too good to be true, and reminds one in a way of George Washington. During the Civil War in England both sides occasionally levied heavy contributions on the people, who suffered severely and Sir Henry Slingsby, an old cavalier who was attached to the person of King Charles 1., wrote in his dairy, one day in 1645: “In our quarters we had little accommodation but in all the places we came to, the best was at Old Radnor, where tho King lay in a poor chamber, and my Lord of Lindsay and others by the kitchen fire on bundles of hay. The King had for his supper a pullet and some cheese) hut the room without was full of officers, though their stomachs were empty.” The poor woman of tho house was much troubled by tho continual calls for food which she could not supply. In the old days a sailor has liis prize money, and a soldier his loot. These were about the only consolations they had, and were, after all, much more useful than pyramids of glory. When in the early .years of the last century Wellington was engaged in his great task of driving the French out of Spain, one of his strictest injunctions to his troops was that there must be no looting of any kind under pain of death, Bpain being England’s ally. In some of Charles 'Lever’s stories oi military life, one finds various mentions of these instructions, and in “Charles O’M alley,” for instance, Major Monsoon (a" character drawn from life), a eommissai iat officer noted for his fondness for picking) up unconsidered trifles otherwise loot, happened on one occasion to be in charge ol a largo number of wagons laden with army stores. Unfortunately one of these broke down just at a'u angle of the road where Wellington was waiting with his staff to watch the troops defile. Everyone stood aghast as, amongst bread and beef rations, out rolled on to the dusty road a whole avalanche of gold and silver ecclesiastical ornaments and vessels, stolen from the neighbouring Spanish churches. “Who has command of this detachment?” shouted out Sir Arthur, in a voice which made everyone tremble. “Major Monsoon, of the Portuguese Brigade, your Excellency.” “The d d old rogue— I know him. Hang him on the spot,” said the general pointing to a convenient tree by the roadside as lie slowly rode away. Fortunately for the major a friend: of liis, avlio was also intimate with Wellington, rode up at the moment and consented, to intercede for him otherwise Major Monsoon would have collected no more spoils* of war.