ARMY AND ORDINANCE EXPENDITURE.

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 545, 5 July 1851, Page 4

ARMY AND ORDINANCE EXPENDI TURE.

At a time when war establishments arc deprecated by tlic Pcuce orators of Gtcut Britain in proportion as they arc developed and displayed by (he Sovcroii^ns ol Continental Europe, the Repoit of the Coinmituo o! the House of Commons upon Aimy and Ordnance Expenditure may claim an interest which not even iti rolobbiil dimensions can overpower. A glance over the mimcH of the witnesses examined by the Commit oc is Hingul*rly suggestive. In order to obtuitt evidence vii to the general conduct of the alTuirn of tlio army, they were compelled to summon bclore thorn the Secietaiy nt Wur, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and the Secretury to the Treasury. Eucli of these fune* tionaries appears to possess about an equal share in the direction of military movements and expenditure; ami not one, of them is aware what are the piciise limits of hia authoiity. * * * Fiom the copious and detailedinformation appended to the cviilence tnken before the Committee it nppcnrs that the sending army of Great Britain now consists o( 129,(i'2f> men, of whom 51,527 aie stationed in Great Britain and Ireland, 27,370 in the East Indies, and 2r>,232 in the colonies. I'or the last ten yuars thcie has been but litt'c variation in it* numerical strength ; but in the trn years piecedinp 1840 it wan considerably less numetous than at present —having been at thut time seldom more than ll 0,000 strong. The cofet, however, of the whole army li>ih not varied materially during the lnht twenty years, the diminished price of die necessaries of lile hnving doubtlesi been mfficient to compensate for the udditiotis made to it since 1840 The totul estimated expenditure for the cavalry and infi.ntry of tliu aimy for the year 1850-51 is £() 019,397, exclusive of 'ho sum paid by the Knit India Comt'iiny —(about f 100,000)— for the support of the Bntish troops serving in their territories There is a melancholy significance iv tho account whii h the Report furnibhes of the number of troops stationed in Ireland fiom 1817 to the pres'-nt year. During that time, if wo excopt the years from 1839 to 1843 inclusive, it bus never been less than 17000, and often more tliuu 20,000 men. While a foice of 29,225 men is considered sufficient for England and Scotland, in Ii eland, where the population is less than that of a third of that of the rest of the kingdom, 22,?02 hokliers are now quartered, and he would be a hold statesmen who sli >u d c mnsul any considerable diinu* nition oJ that high number. Jt io only of late of years thut a system of rewards for " good conduct" has been adopted in the British army. Ot the bt'ne/iiial tendency of such a plan there can be no doubt; and it ih, therefore, satisfactory to observe thut while the rate, of such payment! has not been iucrrascd, their total amount hits steadily augmented, from £10,007 in 18-12, to £58,904 in 1850. Another most impoitant improvement which has recently been introduced, is the establishment of icgimental aehools. It appears, from the evidence of ihe {secretary at Wur, that this arrangement is already producing results of incalculable) importance to the welfare ot the tol Jier. At n comparatively small expense, instruction in now provided for boys and men in every reginunt; and the latter avail themselves of it to an extent which could hardly have been anticipated. Corporal punishment has also been nearly üboltihcd — confinement having been substituted ior it, except in extreme eases. On the whole, the Report before us furnishes cvi deuce of a cheering character with regard to tlie intellectual and moral condition ot a class of men whom society bus too long ticnted as rneie inanimate implemcnU of destruction.—Morning Chronicle.