CO885(1-2) — Page 82

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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the soldiers of our army. All that is necessary for this purpose is to lodge them, not in regular barracks, but in villages, where each man should have his own cottage or hut, and, either attached to it or at a short distance, a small plot of ground for a garden. In the great majority of our colonies, where land is so easily to be had, and where the principal materials for building cottages quite good enough for the purpose are to be found upon the spot, it is proved by the experience of what has been done in Jamaica, that by the labour of the troops themselves, huts or cottages may be built quite sufficient for comfort- able accommodation, at a first cost not greater than the average annual cost of repairs for ordinary barracks. To the married soldiers (and married soldiers forin a large proportion of our whole army) to be exempted from the discomfort (and worse than discomfort) of either having his wife and family in barracks or in lodgings generally of the most wretched description, which he must pay for; to be no longer liable to all the distress of leaving them behind, or of carrying them with him with much incon- venience and suffering every time the regiment to which he belongs changes its quarters—and instead of this to be permanently fixed in a cottage, which, however humble, he would have to himself, and which he could improve by

his labour; would render admission into such corps one

of the greatest boons that could be offered. But these corps consisting, as I propose they should, of men of good conduct and of five years' service, might be reckoned upon as being in the highest degree efficient whenever their services should he called upon. Of course also the right would be retained, though it would not be exercised except in cases of necessity, of employing corps of this kind out of the colony in which they were permanently quartered. In war, for instance, a corps of this sort formed in Canada might be marched to any part of North America; or a corps in Jamaica might form part of an expedition against the United States. The employment of corps of this description in our colonies would be a means of considerable economy, by the saving it would effect in the expense of providing, even in the present imperfect manner, for the relief of troops serving in the colonies; and it would be of great political advantage, by causing a continual influx of a population of British origin and attached to the mother-country, which, in Lower Canada, the Mauritius, and the Cape more espe- cially, would be of great importance. The success, how- ever, of this measure would greatly depend upon freely allowing men who have obtained good-conduct marks to enter into these corps after short periods of service. To this commanding officers of regiments would I fear be strongly opposed, but I am convinced the objection is a

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most mistaken one. No doubt it is a great loss to regi- ments to be deprived of their very best soldiers in the flower of their age, but this loss would be far more than compensated by the effect which I have no doubt would be produced in rendering the military service more popular than it has hitherto been, and thus inducing a superior class of men to enter into it. I anticipate that the mea- sure would have this effect, because, in the first place, it would diminish so greatly the pressure of our colonial service upon regiments of the line; and in the next place, be ause it would increase the rewards held out to well- conducted soldiers, since, as I have already observed, admission into one of the colonial corps would be consi- dered one of the greatest boons that could be granted.”;

11. The revision of our whole system of colonial gar risons would not, however, of itself do much towards accomplishing that increase of our military strength which

I consider the safety of the empire to require. For this purpose other measures must be adopted, of which, I think, the basis must be to create a large reserve force not always employed, and therefore not receiving .constant daily pay, but always in readiness to be called out at the shortest notice. This, also, has already to some extent been accomplished by the organization of the pensioners under Colonel Tulloch. 13,000 of the pensioners of our army have been formed into a force, of which the cost

does not exceed that of a single battalion of the Line in constant service. These men receive an annual gratuity of 17. to provide themselves with necessaries; they are regularly assembled for inspection and exercise eight days in the year, when their pay is 28. a-day for the privates, 2s. 6d. for the corporals, and 3s. for the sergeants, and they are at any time liable to be called out, when wanted, receiving 6d. a-day more than the above rates. Arms and clothing are provided for them, but are retained in the public custody, except when actually in use. It is found that men who have formerly been regularly trained as soldiers, though in some cases it is many years sinc they have had a musket in their hands, when again called out recover with surprising rapidity whatever they may have lost of what they have formerly known; and that the eight days in a year allowed for exercise and inspection, are amply sufficient to keep them in a state of efficiency.

It was, I understand, admitted by the officers who were present, that the battalions of pensioners a few weeks since inspected in Hyde Park, were a highly efficient force. I would therefore propose greatly to augment the force of this description; instead of having 13,000 men liable to be called upon to serve when wanted, I think the number ought to be increased by degrees, but as rapidly as might be D