COMPLIMENTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XV, Issue 877, 6 April 1861, Page 3

COMPLIMENTS.

cow-i l"°m ? olonel Carey t0 Ma Pr Herbert to M?g an C°Py ? f a des Patcsi from his Excellency liwn2°E wf al Pratt CoUveys the welcome intef. Sd f?9 5" wii f the civilian forces is t0 be fo corn . 8 °d, per diem for Privates' 3s and 3« 6d will I P ' vn? serßeaat8> and that needful clothing Zljn™ 111 an early da^ With the depveslonld w p6Cfc ¥° re vs 'thafc the war will be proof £ T another sumi»er 'this care for the wants received w-fU C°mev T y and will be a lowance, h tha.nklu!ness- ™c additional keenly n! i 7" b! en.'^ n many cases ' really «nd and iLo ! d'u nOW.lthßtanding the chatSr n Aalef tionß °f a fe^ kibblers and wpiy. During the whole year the war has lasted,

no period has been more marked by general depres* sion than the past month. A feeling like chronic nightmare has been upon the community. Groaning under the knowledge that rapine, fire, and murder are continually around us, we have felt tied by the cords of a discipline which represses but dooa not organise us, and helpless to escape or resist. And not only so, but those who handle the authority that thus deprives us of our natural healthy powers seemed disposed in every way to join themselves to the number of our troubles. Obedience and submission have been accepted as matters of course and without a gracious notice; exceptional assistance has been looked upon as a.sponge to wash out all the responsibilities of our" military rulers. It was found easy to count the numbers of those who clung to their families in spite of orders j ao reckoning seemed ever to be made of those who acquiesced and patiently sacrificed themselves for the public and in subordination to the military rulers. The recusant militiamen could be numbered and disgraced, 1 and in the same petulant rebuke those who never failed at the muster were included. There would be no object in recapitulating auch grievances, except to call attention to the crumb of comfort which has been afforded in this direction, too. The etiquette of the pffice will not allow of the publication of the correspondence above referred to; but it is understood that a courteous recognition of the services of the militia is contained in Colonel Carey's letter to Major Herbert. Courtesies like this are not to be despised because they are cheap. In the particular case the graceful words of Colonel Carey must be hailed as showing a real advance. They are not the burst of enthusiasm on a successful engagement, which sometimes overshoots its mark; but are a deliberate recognition by the military rulers that soldiers and civilians are really alike engaged in the service of one and the same country. Where glory is the common sustenance, it is always hard to maintain mutual good feeling between one corps and another. Even Admirals and Commodores, Generals and Colonels, will tussle for the scraps of this unsatisfying food, and the newspaper correspondence, printed and unprinted, of every rank, shows that the " sacred hunger" pervades all classes, and makes the task of harmonizing an army a delicate one at all times. Especially difficult are the relations between the professional officers and the non-professional private. The former is accustomed to absolute obedience and deference; the latter to complete independence. More than an average amount of good sense and consideration for others is needed here. A large supply of the oil of courtesy is wanted to avoid terrible friction. Real geniality in the commander, when combined with other essential qualities of a leader, is the one reliable means of producing the desired result. When, on the other hand, a leader makes cause against any of his men, even in his own breast,—when he allows crabbed, suspicious, or grudging feelings there.no reserve on his part will keep the fact a secret; it will be felt, as ifc were, magnetically, and disunion and inefficiency will follow. Armies are not governed by the Queen's Regulations and Articles of War alone, but by a host of high qualities in the leader, not the least of which is the ability to appreciate and sympathise in the difficulties, sacrifices, and services of those under him. It is not easy to overvalue the spontaneous courtesy of Colonel Carey.— Herald, March 9.