MILITIA SYSTEM OF ENGLAND. 129 



as &quot;gentlemen.&quot; He was probably some old army officer, 

 engaged to drill them. 



A young man in the dress of an officer, but dismounted, 

 said, in answer to our inquiries, that their number was 800, 

 in five companies. Most of them were farmers, every farmer 

 of a certain age in the county (as we understood him) being 

 obliged to serve three years, but allowed to send a substi 

 tute if he chooses, and sometimes is represented by his servant. 

 They are out but once a year for training, and then for eight 

 days, and while engaged receive 75 cents a day. They can 

 not be ordered out of the country, and are never called into 

 any active service, except to quell liots. 



I frequently asked afterwards for more information about 

 the yeomanry, but never of a person that seemed to know 

 much about them. A man in the ranks of the Denbighshire 

 yeomanry told us the service was optional. In some counties 

 there is no such body, and the organization, laws, and cus 

 toms of it seem to vary in the different regiments. There is 

 a regular foot-militia organization throughout England (the 

 &quot;train bands&quot;), but none of them, I believe, have been para 

 ded for many years. 



According to a parliamentary return of 1838, there were 

 then of the mounted yeomanry, 251 troops and 13,594 pri 

 vates ; the annual expense of maintaining them was $525,000. 

 The enrolled militia of England in 1838 numbered 200,000 

 men. The officers of these forces, when in service, rank with 

 those of the army of the same grade. A part of the uniform 

 and mountings of the yeomanry are paid for by the govern 

 ment, and some small daily compensation is allowed the pri 

 vates when in service. A drill-sergeant and a trumpeter is 

 also permanently attached to each troop, with a salary from 

 the state. 



NAPIER mentions that the greater part of the 16,000 Brit- 



