714 Account of Regulations 



With regard to the filling up of the regiments, this 

 cannot be done with real advantage before the staff, 

 commissioned, and non-commissioned officers have be- 

 come fully acquainted with the new system, have been 

 thoroughly instructed in the new tactics, and, having 

 become skilful by practice, are in position to undertake 

 the care and instruction of the newly enlisted recruits. 

 Until this is accomplished, all increase of the regiments, 

 instead of being advantageous to the service, will tend 

 only to confusion and disorder, to increase of expendi- 

 ture, and to embarrassing the advance of the new mili- 

 tary system. On this account, up to the present time 

 no special endeavours have been made to increase the 

 army. In spite of this, however, the number of the 

 troops has not decreased since the actual introduction 

 of the new system into the regiments. 



The last of December, 1787, the Electoral army con- 

 sisted of 19,964 men and 720 horses, as may be seen in 

 the monthly report of the regiments for that month. 

 The last of December, 1 788, however, it consisted of 

 only 19,267 men and 629 horses. That this decrease 

 in the army during the year 1 788 was in no wise due 

 to the new system, but is to be regarded as a continua- 

 tion of the yearly decrease which the army suffered for 

 several years in succession, is shown not only by this 

 previous falling off itself, but also by the remarkable 

 increase of the regiments as soon as the new system 

 became better known. The last of December, 1791, 

 the army numbered 19,696 men and 840 horses, show- 

 ing an increase compared with 1788 of 429 men and 

 275 horses. 



Besides this, it is to be noted that all recruits enrolled 

 in the infantry since the year 1788 have enlisted for 



