Yeomanry Cavalry.

MR. EDITOR,-Since you condescend to notice a branch of military service so humble as the Yeomanry Cavalry, I request the attention of those among your readers, whom such subjects concern, to a few remarks upon one or two points which you have not touched; at the same time tendering you my warmest thanks for the excellent observations contained in your last Number.

It is generally reported that some instructions are being drawn up by authority for the movements of Yeomanry Cavalry; that these instructions will be different from the elucidation of Sir David Dundas's regulations; and that the practice recently adopted in the regular cavalry, will be enjoined in the yeomanry also. I do not presume to offer an opinion upon their propriety for regiments of the line; but having an experience of twenty years to enable me to form a judgment upon their advantage for regiments, or smaller corps of yeomanry, I venture to submit the reasons for considering them inapplicable to the latter service, in the hope that these observations may meet the eyes of those who have it in their power to give them effect if found to be valid.

The present practice of regular cavalry places the officers in line in front of the men. The officers have nothing to do but to dress themselves: they do not, and cannot dress the men who are in their rear: these must be dressed by the non-commissioned officers, or other flank men of the divisions into which each troop has been told off.

The objections to this for yeomanry are manifold. The horses of yeomanry officers are not so steady as the horses of officers in regular cavalry ; from not being so well broke in the school, they seldom stand quiet, and consequently do not preserve a correct line. This is, however, of minor importance. A more serious objection is, that the officers are thereby not in a situation to direct their men. It is possible that the commissioned officers of the regular cavalry may not be more efficient than the serjeants and corporals; nay, it is possible, that the non-commissioned officers in regular regiments may be more steady, and au fait, at regimental movements than their superiors; but I am quite certain that such is not the case in yeomanry regiments; and that the commissioned officers take greater pains to acquire a knowledge of their duties, and are to all intents and purposes better soldiers, than their serjeants and corporals. In all movements from line into column, the correctness must depend upon the individuals on the flanks, both pivot and wheeling: and also the accuracy with which the proper wheeling distances are preserved between one division and another; and it is of great importance to have officers on these flanks, because they are the most intelligent men of the regiment; so that, if I were to suggest any alteration from Dundas, it should be to place the serrefile officers on flanks of all divisions in line, rather than in the rear. An officer, when abreast of his men, can preserve them in much better order than when in front of them. When a line is ordered to advance, some horses rush forward, and some hang back, so that for the first few paces the line is always irregular. An officer on a flank can easily and quickly correct this irregularity; but the men will not pay the same ready attention to a serjeant or corporal. It is useless to say that they ought to do so: we must make use of a force as it is, and as it can be used; and not attempt to make it according to an Utopian standard, that can never be attained. It is owing to this irregularity in starting, that a good yeomanry officer is cautious of executing his charges too quickly; and therefore he will not give the order to trot or gallop, until he sees the line perfect at the slower pace; and hence, however well drilled a regiment of yeomanry may be, its movements are always slower than those of a regiment of the line. The Yorkshire Hussars of Lord Grantham, and the Cheshire Yeomanry, which were as perfect as any regiments of the line, were nevertheless slower in their evolutions, owing to this cause.

Another objection to placing the officers in front is, that the line is thereby diminished. It is true that the diminution is very small; but since troops of yeomanry seldom muster for drills above half their strength of privates, after the novelty of the first year has subsided, even that small diminution is inconveniently felt, and no one advantage gained.

Every description of military force possesses advantages and disadvantages peculiar to itself. Heavy cavalry cannot perform all that light cavalry can, and vice versa, as Lord Anglesey learned to his cost at Waterloo. Each must be made perfect in its kind. If yeomanry are inferior to regulars in some things, there is the greater necessity for rendering them perfect, as far as it is possible, in other things. One of the good ingredients in yeomanry, is the intelligence from superior education in the men; one of the bad ingredients is want of smartness and attention in small points of discipline. The great object to be obtained by a commander is precision ; quickness comes next; and though rapidity is valuable, it is inferior to correctness. No word of command ought ever to be given to a yeoman, without his being made thoroughly acquainted with the object which the commander wishes to attain by it. It is of comparatively little importance whether the commanding officer utters one, or twenty syllables: the only point worth considering is, by which means he gets his commands most efficiently executed. In the new regulations, the words of command are much abbreviated; but I am perfectly certain, that those yeomanry corps which shall adopt them, will not be so correct in the field as those which adhere to the apparently longer, but really more rapid orders of Dundas.

April 18th, 1831

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

A FIELD OFFICER OF YEOMANRY.

*We are not aware of any forthcoming instructions such as those alluded to by our Correspondent; indeed, till the revised movements for the cavalry shall have been officially adopted, no corresponding rules can be issued by authority for the guidance of the yeomanry. Meanwhile, the observations offered in our last Number, will, we think, be found sufficient for all general purposes.-ED.

State of the British Artillery.

MR. EDITOR, I have perused with considerable interest and attention, the able article under the signature of “Mentor," in your last Number, "On the Organization of the British Artillery," and I rejoice that the subject is taken up by so zealous and judicious a correspondent. I entirely concur with him in lamenting the present deplorable state of the British Artillery, and, let me add, Engineers' department. Though myself in a different branch of the service, yet as a British officer, and from having served much in conjunction with artillery, I feel very forcibly the absolute and immediate necessity of some change being effected respecting artillery promotion, and I feel as forcibly the absolute necessity of putting this "right arm of war" of one service on a footing to meet the battle-storm, whose dusky clouds are now gathering fast over the horizon of Europe. The present inefficiency of this service is most glaring, both in number of men and practice. I am the more led to offer these remarks from having been a late witness to the excellent and workmanlike state" of the artillery of France. I allude especially to the force in that branch that I saw embark at Toulon for the African expedition, and which force alone comprised very nearly as many men and guns as England can now call effective in the same branch! No officer in the service is a better judge than the gallant and distinguished officer now at the head of the ordnance, of the vital importance of this peculiar arm of the service; he well remembers the cheers of his gallant brigade, at the splendid manner in which the guns attached to it

were served at Waterloo; he well remembers the dying testimony of the glorious Picton, (to the command of whose division, he, Sir James, succeeded) as to good service done by those guns; and he will doubtless put the ordnance department in such a state, that it may in future days again draw forth such words as these from a defeated enemy: "The Imperial Guard made several charges, but was constantly repulsed, crushed by a terrible artillery, that each minute seemed to multiply. These invincible grenadiers beheld the grape-shot make day through their ranks.”

”毫

I have the honour to be, Sir, yours, &c. &c.

Medical Department.

Dux.

MR. EDITOR,-The last number of the United Service Journal contains a letter from an old medical officer, (Medicus Senex,) with a schedule of pay and allowances, &c. as laid down, he says, by H. M. Warrant, May 22, 1804. With the observations contained in that letter I fully coincide, and hold nothing to be better established in law and in equity, than the right of the medical officers of the Army to all the advantages hitherto enjoyed under that warrant. Of course I mean all officers in the service previously to July 1830; all who have entered, or who may enter subsequently to that period, must claim under the late warrants. Should any officer, however, of the former class, accept of any advantage whatsoever under the late warrants, he must be considered as thereby relinquishing all right to claim at any future period under the warrant of 1804.

It is a painful thing to find that any doubts or difficulties should have been started on these subjects, and that persons in subordinate situations should have been compelled to struggle individually, each in defence or vindication of his own just claims. But so it is, unfortunately, in our department, between the head of which and the members no common feeling of confidence or cordiality seems to exist,―no sympathy, as we say.

My object, however, at present, is not to discuss these matters, but to warn your readers not to place implicit reliance on the schedule given in the last Number, as some of the rates therein specified are subject to deductions, of which no notice is taken by your Correspondent.

The gross full-pay of Regimental Surgeons also is overstated, the true rate under the warrant being 12s. and not 12s. 6d.

Should any of your Correspondents have in their possession copies of the schedule of 1814, or of any circular or general order connected with it, or with the present subject generally, it would be an act of kindness and justice to the profession to give them publicity through your pages. April 10, 1831.

A Grievance of Mates in the Navy.

MEDICUS.

MR. EDITOR.-The warranted class of Mates in the Navy have but of late years sprung up, and I make no doubt the undermentioned grievance must have been entirely overlooked, or certainly it could not have remained so long unheeded.

It is that second masters take precedence to mates; on what principle, I am at a loss to comprehend; but it is a circumstance that creates much ill-will between the two ranks, more particularly in vessels commanded by lieutenants, where mates are placed so frequently under the orders of the second master. The midshipman, previous to passing, is senior to the master's assistant, although but two years in the service. On his undergoing the examination to qualify him for a lieutenant, he takes the name of

Vide" Relation fidèle et détaillée de la dernière campagne de Buonaparte, par un témoin oculaire." Paris, 1815.

mate, and, if by good fortune he obtains his commission, he takes rank over both the second master and master.

The examinations midshipmen now undergo both at the Naval College and before three captains, with the experience they obtain, fit them more particularly for the situation of Commanding Officer: while many from the merchants' service, undergoing an examination for a second master, are at once appointed to that rank. Fancy, then, a mate of ten years passed so situated, how can he perform his duty with the least zeal or pleasure under the orders of one so new to the profession, and possessing so little knowledge of the service? It is a grievance, if once remedied, would call forth the thanks of a large proportion of young officers, and ultimately prove of real benefit to the profession. G. G.

"Radical" and the Foot Guards.

MR. EDITOR,-I am induced to direct your attention to a letter in the Times newspaper of the 18th instant, signed "Radical," in which, after much profession of being a "brave man," the writer, who I hear is a Mr. Jones, states that he was driven from the profession, in which thirty years of his life had been passed, and, as he hopes, without a stain, in consequence of an order he had given for the maintenance of discipline, which order the Duke of York directed to be torn from the orderly-book in the presence of his own officers and the field officers of the garrison of Dublin.

Proud testimonial to the memory of the illustrious Duke !—I have never yet been so fortunate as to meet with a Radical who was not a tyrant ; and I therefore consider this act of his Royal Highness to be in accordance with all his other proceedings, in support of the rights of the soldier and of humanity, and which line of conduct so justly entitled him to the appellation of the "Soldier's Friend."

But frail mortals are liable to err-" facts are stubborn things," and“ Radical" promises to convince the public that he was right and the Duke wrong. Of Mr. Jones's services I do not pretend to know any thing except from his own trumpeting: there are men of his name who reflect honour on the military profession, from whom our hero must be distinguished in future story, as "Radical Jones," or " Orderly Book Jones," and thus, at least, enjoy an inglorious immortality apart from his laurelled fellows. The Jones, in the shyness of his modest nature, promises in his said letter, that "at some future and befitting period" the Order shall be given to the public. Surely this "honourable man" cannot consider any time so befitting as the present; for Cæsar, or somebody else, says "he is ambitious"—let him now prove to the world, and especially to that portion of it classed as "worthy and independent electors," his own purity" as a soldier when in command, and then his attacks upon all persons and characters will have greater weight: the publication of this testimonial of "discipline" and humanity would ensure him respect or contempt.

66

I am sure, Sir, you will not hesitate to do justice to Mr. Jones by inserting the Order, if he sends it to you. Your pages are required, I admit, for valuable information, but recollect this Order has been torn from the Orderly Book of the Guards; and, therefore, it is something to put on record, and it is something that will do justice to the military career of so renowned a" Radical and Emancipator."

I have already observed, that of the services of this said Mr. Jones I know nothing, but I hear that he was at Bergen-op-Zoom, which brings to my recollection an anecdote I have heard connected with that unfortunate affair. At Bergen-op-Zoom an officer had to deliver a message to the enemy. Meeting with a French grenadier, he attempted to communicate his instructions, but not being understood, the grenadier took him by the shoulder, and, with a contemptuous-allez foutre,

"Poured his foot in thunder on his rear"

and thus sent him forward on his errand.

ANTI-RADICAL.

**While the individual who is understood to scribble under the signature of "Radical," confined himself to the usual topics of pot-house declamation, his grotesque exhibitions concerned us not; but that ex-officer having thought proper, with edifying simplicity, to reveal the cause of his own degradation, and, thereupon, to assail the memory of a Prince, who, by common consent of officer and soldier, was regarded as the truest friend of both, and is reverenced as such in his premature grave, we shall feel it to be our duty to expose the exact pretensions of his slanderer.

Contagion and Malaria in cases of Fever.

ED.

MR. EDITOR,—I have this moment read the very interesting article respecting the Gibraltar Epidemic contained in your Number for February. I had never previously read one line relative to the point at issue between the contagionists and the non-contagionists, nor do I know aught of Dr. Smith, or of his pamphlet. I am not a medical person, but a humble Commander in the Royal Navy, and consequently have no other view than a desire to assist in the investigation of truth, by stating some circumstances which have occurred under my own experience, materially tending to confirm the hypothesis of malaria, and not contagion, being the cause of infection in cases of the West India yellow, or black vomit fever. The instances I shall adduce may be readily authenticated by documents registered at the Admiralty Office; therefore, perhaps, I may be excused for not signing my name to this communication, particularly as I might by so doing incur the risk of giving offence to Dr. Pym, with whom I am slightly acquainted, and for whose character I entertain the highest respect.

In the year 1804 or 1805, His Majesty's sloop-of-war the Kingfisher entered Demerara river on the coast of Guiana, with scarcely a sick person on board, and certainly without any case of fever. The vessel had not been long, however, at this anchorage before numbers fell ill, and the men began to die rapidly, most of them exhibiting the black vomit symptom. We sailed almost immediately, and although most of those on the sick-list perished, including the Commander, Capt. Cribb, the Carpenter, Mr. Sutherland, and a great number of the ship's company,-yet the disease was instantly checked by leaving Demerara, and no fresh case occurred after we got fairly out to sea.

Now, if this black vomit fever had been propagated by contagion alone, why should it not have gone on spreading as rapidly at sea as in the river? and if it did not originate in local malaria, why should mere change of place have arrested its progress?

In 1808 or 1809, a few frigates cruising off Guadaloupe summoned the small Island of Mariegalante to surrender; and, quite unexpectedly I believe, the Governor capitulated. The place was hastily garrisoned by Marines, who fell sick in vast numbers-men and officers dying rapidly. Nearly every case of this deadly distemper was characterised by the fatal symptom of black vomiting. The temporary Governor, Capt. Hugh Pigot, Royal Navy, now commanding H. M. Ship Talavera in the Downs, alarmed at the dreadful ravages of this fever, did all he could to check its career. As it was generally thought that the disease proceeded principally from some lagoons, or small lakes, surrounded by trees and underwood, bodies of negro slaves were employed to fell timber, burn the bushes, and make a freer passage for the circulation of air. Whether these precautions had any effect or not, is, perhaps, immaterial, so far as relates to the question of contagion or malaria: but one fact respecting this epidemic is remarkably applicable, namely, that in the instances of a few officers who were so fortunate as to get on board some of the ships-of-war, the fever was instantly checked, and they were almost the only cases of recovery. It should also be observed, that notwithstanding many of these sufferers were taken on