3 2 PRESENT SYSTEM. 



with any one department, the Commanding Officer becomes the 

 critic of them all ; but a critic with power to act, which is more 

 than most critics have, and a responsibility to meet, which the 

 harmonious action of his command enables him to face to the 

 best of his individual ability. 



No commanding officer can do the work of all his subordinates, 

 but he may so systematize their labors that, while he need not 

 assume the work of any, he may still hold each accountable for 

 his own share. If he confines himself to working where his work 

 will tell the most, and gives others the same chance, he cannot 

 fail to find their interest and energy increased and his own labor 

 diminished while its efficiency is largely enhanced. 



To assist the Commanding Officer in the active management 

 of the shops, he often details an officer to superintend them; 

 he is known herein as the Officer in Charge. As has 

 been before said, this officer is theoretically the inferior of one 

 who is both superior and co-ordinate to the Ordnance Store- 

 keeper ; practically, he and the storekeeper are, in many respects, 

 co-ordinate inferiors to a common head, the Commanding Officer. 

 Both functions, and indeed all three, may be united in the same 

 person ; but their responsibilities are widely different. To 

 illustrate, I would say that the Ordnance Storekeeper is the 

 Commanding Officer's left hand, while the Officer in Charge is 

 the Commanding Officer's right hand. The left hand holds the 

 purse, while the right hand disposes of the treasure it contains ; 

 the left hand holds the scabbard, while the right hand draws the 

 sword ; the one has a passive charge, the other an active duty. 



Granting this, which is no idle image, it follows that the cus- 

 tody of all the material of the Post, not in use, should be with 

 the Ordnance Storekeeper ; while the care of the material in use, 

 and the means of using it, should be with the Officer in Charge ; 

 each acting personally or by deputy. 



The Officer in Charge has for his deputies : 



i. The Master Armorer, or as he is sometimes called, the 

 Master Workman. He is a sort of permanent lieutenant to the 



