banking account. But in the army not only
this, but much worse than this, is done. Not
only are appointments entirely dependent on
certain comparatively large sums of money, but
all subsequent promotion is a mere question
of pounds, shillings, and pence. Of the working
of this, few civilians—- or,at any rate, those
who have not near relatives in the army—- can be
aware, else the system which has been so long
the disgrace and hindrance to all real reform
of the profession could certainly not be allowed
to continue, as it does, part and parcel of our
military law.

Let us suppose that Mr. Smith wishes to
put his son into the army, and that he has
interest enough to obtain an appointment for
him.

In due time the lad must pass an examination
for what is called "a direct commission," which
means that he has got his nomination without
having to go to the Military College. If he
passes—- and, judged by the average educational
standard of the day, the examination is by no
means difficult—- his commission is not gazetted,
he does not become an officer in the army,
until he lias paid four hundred and fifty pounds
into the hands of the regimental agents. This
seems objectionable enough as a rule, but what
follows is much worse. When he had passed
another examination, and is eligible by seniority
for a lieutenancy in the corps as his next
step, if he can pay a further sum of two
hundred and fifty pounds—- making in all seven
hundred pounds—- he is promoted, but if not, the
next below him—- provided he has the sum
required—- passes over his head, and so on down
to the junior ensign, who, if he had the
requisite sum of money, and none of his seniors
had, would be promoted over them all. It is the
same when Smith junior becomes senior among
lieutenants, and wishes to purchase his cap-
taincy.* If he have the money, he obtains his
promotion; if he have not, he must remain where
he is. Nor is there any difference up to the
command of regiments inclusive. If there be—-
as frequently happens —- two majors in the same
corps, and the senior of the two cannot purchase,
the junior passes over his head, and becomes
lieutenant-colonel; he then commands the man
by whom he was previously commanded, and
becomes the senior to him whose junior he
was before. In short, as in order to rise
at the bar a gift of speaking well is required,
or to get on as a solicitor a knowledge
of law is requisite, or to attain naval
distinction it is essential to be conversant with
navigation, so the one absolute sine quâ non,
without which it is impossible ever to obtain
promotion, in the English army is money. The late
General Havelock was twenty-four years a
subaltern, because he could not purchase the
rank of captain; had he been able to pay one
thousand eight hundred pounds, he would have
been a general officer while he was yet,
comparatively speaking, a young man. The late Lord
Clyde was on the point of giving up the service
when a major, because he had not the money
to purchase, and because promotion without
purchase appeared utterly hopeless.
Fortunately, a friend lent him the amount required,
and he was able, as we know, to push his way
to the very front rank of his profession. But
a still more strikiing instance of the manner in
which the purchase system works, was brought
prominently before me when I served in the
army.

* Very few weeks ago, the sixth lieutenant in a
heavy dragoon regiment purchased his captaincy
over his five seniors.

In the regiment to which I belonged, there
were two young officers who had passed out of
Sandhurst on the same day: the one being named
senior to the other in the corps, as he had passed
out of the college before his companion. The
junior was the son of a gentleman who had some
means; the senior was the orphan of an old
officer, and had nothing but his pay to depend
upon. It is nearly thirty years since those two
gentlemen entered the service, and both have
proved themselves good and gallant soldiers; but
money—- which in the English army is another
name for merit—- helped the one, but could not
help the other. After long years of weary waiting,
the- senior found himself, not long ago, promoted
to an unattached majority without purchase. If
by any lucky chance he be able to pay, in order
to be put upon full pay again, he may, perhaps,
during the next twenty years, become a major-general.
But his former college companion—- his
former junior, who has always had money
enough to purchase promotion, pay for
exchanges, and work the only oracle which in the
English army leads to advancement—- has been
for some years a full colonel commanding a
regiment, and must ere long be promoted to
the rank of major-general. It is but a few
years since those two officers found themselves
at the same up-country station in India. The
one—- he who had passed out of Sandhurst
first of the two—- was in command of a
company of his regiment, and his pay and Indian
allowances amounted to about forty pounds
per month; the other, the junior, a full colonel
commanding the station, drew one hundred and
seventy pounds per month. I don't say that
the senior, who could not purchase, was a better
officer than the other who was able to purchase,
but I am certain he was not a worse one. They
were both excellent soldiers and honourable
gentlemen, and any army in the world might
be proud of them.

It may be asked what has the system of
promotion by purchase to do with the difficulties of
obtaining recruits for the ranks of the English
army? I reply, everything. So long as it exists,
no young man will ever enlist in the ranks with
the hope of obtaining promotion to a commission,
for he must know that, even if he were
fortunate enough to be made an ensign, the
purchase system would effectually prevent his
getting a step higher, unless some good fairy
left him a few thousand pounds. And so long
as we put an insurmountable obstacle in the
way of promotion being obtained by those who