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    THE ORDNANCE EXAMINATIONS

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    Untitled Article

    sothat . &hoyi&'they sMdmp&iif him ux the titular y * pi& 6 tidn , the ^ do not in the pecuniary promotion . We wiant some principle , therefore , to tell us how it is that these superior promotions are arranged . Perhaps the nature of the principle may be guessed from certain other arrangements . Not long since Windsor Theatre was disturbed by a row between the manager and a regimental officer , who had been among the patrons of a "bespeak . " This officer was JJord Ebnest Vane , who allowed his name , with those of other officers of the regiment stationed in Windsor , to appear in the

    playbills , and thus felt himself endowed so far with the character of the father of the family that he insisted upon visiting the ladies in their dressing-rooms . Resisted in this paternal anxiety , the young patron collared the remonstrating manager , held him over a staircase , and , notwithstanding his piteous remonstrances , threw him down . Being noble , the young officer was let off with a nominal

    fine ; but the Horse Guards , of course , were bound to take some cognisance of the matter , and they did so . iJord Ebnest Vane was not compelled to leave his regiment as being incapable of adapting himself to the society of gentlemen , he was not compelled to sell out , but he was permitted to take active service in the Crimea ; " exchanging" from his own regiment into one that is there employed . We may infer from this circumstance that service in the East is to a certain

    extent placed upon a level with transportation as we used to understand it before the enactment of penal servitude . JJdrd Ebitest Vane's is only an individual case : our readers will remember an instance of discipline still more curious . The Fortysixth Regiment was disturbed by a constant practice of roasting officers . The commanding officer was conscious of irregularities , but did not interfere . One young officer , Gbeeb , took the lead in outrages upon discipline ; another young officer , Pebrt ,

    was the victim of the outrage . The victim was dismissed , his persecutor was allowed to " sell out ; "' but the commanding officer who governed the regiment with these results was sent to the Crimea in command , has since succeeded to be Brigadier-General , and is now in command of a division ! It was proved in favour of Colonel Gabbett , indeed , that he played at whist with much assiduity , and with a really concentrated attention quite sufficient to account for his not being disturbed by the Pebby-Gbebb riots . He has shuffled his cards to some purpose , and is a

    rising man . We infer , therefore , that the Crimea is regarded as a place of penal servitude ; a sort of trctvauuff forces , to which refractory or negligent officers may be sent . It is , however , a prison agreeable to the incarcerated ; for if the men behave respectfully to their superiors , as Brigadier Gabbett must have done , they are sometimes , it would seem , promoted from being prisoners in the penal settlement to being gaolors over the other prisoners .

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    THE OEDNANCE EXAMINATIONS . To bestow appointments in the artillery by literary competition seems the last affront to the advocates of physical and practical qualifications . "What you want , " it will be said , " in' ant officer , ' at any rate , is not knowledge of'foooksj but strength and courage , and good common seti 6 e : > i . Arfe "Offi ^ era" chd ^ ien under the present system for- their strength , or courage , or cofcrntdn ! 'Settee ?> " < Axe' they chosen for any otfee * ' neasoW'Oh ' a ' ii . that their parents have apj > ite& < . form al commission P And ' do their parents , fax > tbe'tottjorilly of cases , abply fdr a

    commission for'any better' reas 6 n than that tlieir sons are tioo stupid and idle for anything but the army ? In the artillery , a course of cramming ^ of the very worst kind and a pass examination supervenes after the nomination ; but the nomination itself takes place irrespective of any merit or aptitude whatsoever . By the system of literary competition , then , you lose nothing . You supersede no better criterion . And you gain ( what you would gain by drawing lots ) the abolition of patronage and solicitation . A moment ' s reflection , however , will show those who tell us that we want not knowledge of books , but physical strength and common sense , that they are the dupes of a transparent verbal fallacy . If they will substitute without for but , their fallacy will immediately appear . They will then see they are tacitly assuming that no man who is clever and well educated possesses common sense . Common sense is not a special faculty by itself ; much less is it a faculty the possession of which is incompatible with the possession of other faculties . It is merely ability , with a certain basis of character , applied to practical affairs . That same ability is applicable to , and is tested by , a successful preparation for a literary competition . Power of attention , retentiveness , clearness of head , selfpossession in a moment of excitement , power of reproducing and applying knowledge , judgment in avoiding blunders and nonsense , are the qualities which give a candidate the victory in a well-managed examination . Even the more imaginative parts of a classical examination , such as verse composition ( which may have startled the readers of the Ordnance Report ) , are tests of that inventive faqulty which , turned to professional objects , may produce a new projectile ! , or a" new plan of fortification . All kinds of capacity are more nearly allied to each other than any capacity is to ignorance . The abstraction and ptirblindness which we connect with the notion of a student , and which , of course , are fatal to action , are not native to intellect , but incrustations gathered by long devotion to study . They are seldom , we might say never , incurable in a youth of nineteen . As to physical qualities , we said before , when commenting on the Indian examination , that muscular strength must not be confounded with practical vigour . William III . struggled heroically and successfully against Louis Quatobze , though he probably could pot have wrestled with a boy . A prize-figliter would thrash a CiESAB , a Mablboeough , a Napoleon , and a Fbedebick all put together . A youth cannot beat his rivals in examinations without cerebral energy , ainbitioja , and the strength of will which is nccossary in order to limit tho appetite for amusements , and fix the attention on dry work . It very frequently happens , however — much more frequently than is commonly supposed —that tho same man is distinguished in mental and bodily exercises . A constitution sound enough to endure the fatigues of a campaign should , of course , be required as a sine qud non in all who are admitted to competition for military appointments . Nothing more seems necessary in an age when TnKBSiTES might kill Achilles a inilo off , and the huge frame of Ajax would only afford a larger mark for the Mini 6 rifle . But there is another point of view in which tliie matter ought to be regarded . ¥ o buglitj not to be contented with the mere prot ' es , ; sional efficiency of our officers , regardless , of their minds and characters . We lyive no business to make Hini 6 and Lancaster jri © n . The separation between the ' spider f ind the citizen , which / gtanfljUng idrniipe ijti yo ^ yj b , is b , a , d enough at best ^ but it tipQyye ^ ihtp ^ ifotye if our soldiers are to'bd ^ mere 4 cast-iron machines

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    POLITICAL ENGLAND ^ A vbby small part of the nation ,,, at present , is seriously political . ' Almost every tenpound householder , notwithstanding , credits himself with a rare amount of public spirit . The morning papers disgust him unless they contain , in emphatic type , reports , of , a ^ least one victory and one projected alliance . He cherishes an ardent nope that his Majesty Napoleon the Thibp may long be spared , and lie believes Gladstone atraitpr ,, ?? BiGiiT a bigot , the King of Naples a tyrant , and the King of Pbussia a sot . ^ Sqme ' timies ho thinks that Palmebston is a patriot , at others that he corresponds in secret with the Emperor of Kussia , and that a little local journal is " manna from Heaven" for saying so . But , at beat , tho English ten-pound householder has , since the war commenced , passed through fits of intoxication succeeded , by spells of lethargy . When the army was sacrificed , his sense of justice j ^ ndljw ki nfl ^ y sympathies , roused him . He would have glory abroad , not disgrace or disaster . No other impulse could move him . Ho read i \\ o newspapers , and trusted that , if matters went wrong , JPttno&and tho Times , would bring tho Government to renson . While this mighty and much-courted ordor do ^ ed and cxplotlpd by turps , what wore tho others doing . ? Tho working clucww , certainly , preserve ; tp a limited extent , tho forms ot agitation . But , they hnw , i « . » w" * . HJ stance ^ been led into tho wo » t , epn « ay » 0 extravagance , corrupted by ^ 'TatSv by ^ oriomnniacn , l W ^ r * p v-te ^ W ¦ S"M&- % i ^ the teSerity of Uf-oducafcod n , on ; other

    The Ordnance Examinations

    i ^ mmmmSSSmmmimm ^ iSm ^ mmmSSmilmmSm ^ mmS mfmSmSmmmmSmmmmmmSii of wat , iini ^ per ] jiaps v : o ^^ the ideas and feelings of' cultiyate | 3 thu ^^ i ); y Mere courage in the . field d 6 ej ! . £ ofc ipottipensate to us for the social nuisance and scandal of barrack life , and the detestable , example , ft . sets to the soldiers , who , of course , take their notions of morality from the gentlemen . ^ The abominations revealed in the Pjebbx afiair are __ , ,

    the natural consequences of total vacancy of mind and the total absence of any refined tastes in a soldier unengaged in active duty ; Such men cannot , even when engaged , feel the chivalry or appreciate the romance of a soldier ' s life . Brave they are on the battlefield , though they do not seem to have that high sense of honour which would prevent

    them from leaving their regiments , in the middle of a campaign in great numbers and on all sorts of pretences—coming home to wait upon sick generals , as well as coming home when they are sick themselves . Brave , we say , they are ; but we may boast that Englishmen in general , educated as . well : as uneducated , are constitutionally brave .

    At all events , in selecting a more educated class of men for military command , especially in the artillery , we are making no rash or premature innovation . What is commonly called common sense—that is , ignorance , and stupidity—has been tried to the-utmost . The bones of a splendid army e ?; mtnanded , by Common Sense rest in the ground where Common Sense allowed them to perish , not only unaided and unguided ,... but almost un ,- » cared " for . Victorious in . battles , which were .

    won by the uncommanded courage of the common soldiers , like a game at football , Common Sense has been foiled in every operation invtfhiph c ommanding , qualiti es were required , wiilie a leader ¦ phosTsn on , a . different principle , in the person of Pelissi ; bj& , lias gained " the victory at . his side . " -JL resort t # j skill , and intelligence , if it is not the resqurpe of reasonable hope , has , become ,, the , ihtsf ; . refuge of despair . ; -

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• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 20, 1855, page 1009, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2111/page/13/