PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
C.O.
Reference :-
885
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
Mauritius.
2
The Government is aware, that it has been the practice to relieve the troops stationed in our Foreign Possessions, India and Australia excepted, after a service of not less than ten years. This custom is stated to have been observed generally since the army has been placed on a peace establishment, until it was materially interrupted by the large additions made to the force in North America.
There are at this time nine regiments which have served abroad ten years and upwards, of which—
Four in Canada have been abroad Three in Canada
One in the Mediterranean One at the Cape
12 years
10 10 11
3
The garrison of Gibraltar is composed of—
Royal Artillery
Royal Engineers
Senior Companies of five Battalions, each of 479 rank and file
Rank & File.
326
Present strength of garrison of Gib- raltar.
80
. 2395
2801
When one of the five battalions shall be withdrawn, the garrison will be composed of Proposed reduction
of the garrison.
Rank & File.
Royal Artillery Royal Engineers
326
Sentor Companies of four Battalions, to be raised to 559 rank and file
each
80
2236
Difference
2642 159
and which ought to be relieved in the course of the present year.
Of the nine regiments at home which are first for Foreign service,—
One served in India.
Three in the West Indies
Three in the Mediterranean
One in Ceylon
One in Nova Scotia
10 years
10
11
11 11
But these regiments only returned to this country in 1836; and, upon reference to the arrangements of former years, it appears, that scarcely any regiment had been sent abroad under a period of from four to five years' service at home.
Supposing then that it should be deemed advisable, under present circumstances, to let the reliefs for the present year proceed, it remains for the Government to determine whether the General Commanding-in-Chief is to consider himself empowered to take, in aid of his arrangements, the four battalions which it has been agreed to withdraw from Ceylon, the Mauritius, and Gibraltar. If the intentions of the Government in that respect remain unaltered, Lord Hill would propose to detach the two battalions, to be withdrawn from Ceylon to India, to relieve two battalions there; to send the battalion, to be withdrawn from the Mauritius, to the Cape of Good Hope, for the relief of a battalion serving in that colony; and the battalion, to be withdrawn from Gibraltar, would be ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed to the West Indies in the ensuing month of October.
Expediency of re- No objection is offered from any quarter against the proposed reduction of the ducing garrison of garrison of Ceylon. But an opinion against the expediency of reducing the garrison of the Mauritius has been elicited from the Governor of that colony under the following circum- Appendix. No. 12 stances. With reference to this arrangement, the effect of which would be to reduce the numerical strength of the garrison from 1,437 to 1,118 rank and file, the General Com- manding-in-Chief has transmitted to Lord Normanby a report from the Governor of the Mauritius, dated 2nd November, 1838, by which it appears that in the event of the occurrence of certain possible contingencies, constituting a pressing necessity, the Government of India proposed to apply to him for a reinforcement of troops. Upon this subject, the Governor states, that even in time of peace, the garrison of the Mauritius ought not, in his judgment, to consist of less than the Service Companies of three regiments; but that, although the detachment of any part of that force would be attended with con- siderable inconvenience, he would nevertheless comply with any requisition which should be made to him by the Indian Government for a reinforcement, provided of course that there should be no reason for apprehending that this country might become involved in a more general war, and that there should be no prospect of any commotion in the Island in consequence of the approaching termination of the negro apprenticeship. But the Governor expresses his expectation, that in the event of the reinforcement being de- manded and sent, to the extent of one battalion, another battalion would be sent to replace it, or that the garrison would be completed to its present strength from the depots of the two remaining battalions. The minimum extent of the Governor's demand amounts, therefore, to 319 men-but with this the General Commanding-in-Chief states that it would be inconvenient to comply.
Expedicney of re-
ducing garrison of Gibraltar.
It remains then to be considered, whether there exists any probability that the Indian Government will have already applied for a reinforcement from the Mauritius, and whether the Governor has shown sufficient grounds for requiring that his garrison should be main- tained at its present strength, either in that contingency, or in the parallel case of one of the three battalions being withdrawn in execution of the arrangements agreed upon by the Government at the commencement of the present year.
Now as the Governor, at least, can have no reason for anticipating that this country will be engaged in a general war, and as there is no probability that the termination of the negro apprenticeship, so far as may be judged from what has passed, will lead to internal commotion, the only remaining objection to be dealt with, is the inconvenience which it is represented would follow from a reduction in the numerical strength of the garrison.
The expediency of reducing the garrison of Gibraltar appears much more questionable.
What was intended, in that respect, was to withdraw one of the five battalions of in- fantry now stationed there, but at the same time to increase the numerical strength of the four remaining battalions.
Against this reduction, trifling as it is, the General Commanding-in-Chief, fortified by
the opinion of the Governor of Gibraltar, has offered various objections, grounded on the
reasons stated in the Appendix. Those objections, however, it may be unnecessary to Appendix, No. 13. examine more particularly, as Lord Normanby is in possession of statements addressed to his predecessor and to himself, which will compel him, at no distant period, to call the serious attention of the Government to considerations of the deepest importance, of which it can only here be stated, that they point distinctly to the apparent necessity of reinforc- ing the garrison to an extent considerably beyond its present strength.
Under these circumstances, although it may not be advisable to interfere with the arrangement which has been made for withdrawing a battalion from Gibraltar, so far as it is destined to relieve a regiment now serving in the West Indies, it will remain to be de- cided whether the infantry force of the garrison can safely be reduced.
In the mean time the General Commanding-in-Chief has renewed his propositions Appendix, No. 11.
for a further increase of force, as founded upon the entire inefficiency of the smaller
depots especially, and upon the present pressing demand for troops at home.
It has been admitted by the Secretary at War, that if the arrangements already made, be adhered to, difficulties may arise from the want of sufficient means to provide for the relief of regiments serving abroad, and from the inability of the reduced depots to perform all the duties required from them.
Without, however, proposing any immediate or extensive change in the depot system generally, the Secretary at War earnestly recommends a change in the organization of the depots of those regiments, the service companies of which have been raised to 600 rank and file. With a view to provide a remedy for the defective constitution of those skeleton depôts which, as divided at present into four companies furnishing eleven men for every officer, it is suggested that the regiments in question should be divided into ten companies, nearly equal, eight of seventy-five Rank and File each, furnishing as at present 600 men, to serve abroad; and the two other Companies composed of seventy-three Rank and File each, to be embodied into provisional battalions at home.
This arrangement which could equally be applied hereafter to the depot companies of 180 rank and file, would be attended with the two following main advantages: 1st, it would furnish a far more effective force for home service, and 2dly, it would materially aid the system of reliefs. The last of these expected results is illustrated in the following
manner-
Supposing that when the army was ordered to be recruited to its full establishment, regiments had been divided according to the depot system as established in 1825, into—
6 Service companies of
4 Depot companies of
Rank and File.
516
224
740
and the force abroad, including India and New South Wales, had remained the same as at present, namely 29,244 rank and file, the colonial service would have absorbed fifty-seven battalions, leaving at home twenty-two battalions, and the yearly reliefs required being 7 the home service of each battalion would have been reduced to little more than three years; whereas if the division of regiments into service companies, of 600 rank and file, and depots of 139 now partially adopted, were carried into effect generally, there would be required for service abroad forty-nine battalions, and for home service thirty, and the relief accruing annually being reduced to 6 in ten years, the length of home service would be four years and eight months.
Upon this proposition the General Commanding-in-Chief has chiefly remarked, that the formation of the depots into provisional battalions would not be unattended with some prac- tical difficulties: but that as the plan merely contemplates another division of those regi-