460 
THE REMOUNTING OF CAVALRY. 
giment, inasmuch, that if his credit abandons him in the transac- 
tion, his prosperity will also abandon him. It is not so. Let us 
see how he may conduct himself in it. 
Every one knows how readily the estimate which a horse-dealer 
forms on the question of right and wrong accommodates itself to 
his own interest in his dealings with a regiment : there may be 
any relaxation of principle so long as he satisfies the officer ap- 
pointed to pass, and thus not render back to the Government such 
a return as may be equivalent for the sum he received. 
Now, the officer may have reached the maturity of an established 
reputation for knowledge of horses in the regiment, let him be 
either a commanding officer or a subordinate, as far as the animal 
goes for his own use; that is, he may be a judge of an eighty 
pound horse, but rarely knows any thing of a horse at the price 
given for a re-mount (bought under the hurry and excitement of a 
fair), and the nakedness of his knowledge awakens him out of the 
delusion of his competency to judge, when he is called upon to 
pronounce upon the fitness of a three- year-old, the acceptance of 
which is pressed upon him by the dealer, who knows well that it 
must become a question of time, and that that time, come what 
will, will relieve them both from responsibility, provided the animal 
be then passed. How wide, therefore, is the operation of selfish- 
ness on the part of the dealer, and how limited that of control on 
the part of the passing officer will appear. 
If it is asserted that the Government cannot enter upon the 
purchase of troop horses by a more prudent and economical sys- 
tem, it should be shewn that advantage is derived from it; but it 
will be difficult to collect from inquiries that any, the least, do so 
result. A catalogue of miscarriages, displayed by their want of 
judgment, is to be found in every barrack-yard, and it would be 
easy in every one of these cases to trace the cause of failure. At 
inspections for casting, horses are shewn that never should have 
been bought, some with one year’s service, never having done one 
day’s work, some with two, three, and four ; in fact, four is an 
average not infrequent to be found out of a large casting of be- 
tween twenty and thirty' — and this, after all, is the best waj^ of 
arriving practically at the solution of the question of the dealer’s 
use. It is my conviction, that in many regiments such cases will 
be found, and I speak positively as to some ; there is, then, no 
question of the fact of a very extended abuse of the system, and 
the reason is, the parties do not acquit themselves well of their 
trust. 
It is now my purpose, having investigated the utility of the 
dealer, to proceed to offer my ideas of improving the system. 
By the present system, bad as well as good horses derive the 
