610 
SUBALTERN OFFICERS. 
character for the three divisions to be controlled with different degrees 
of severity, and uniformity could not be secured, for although the 
commanding officer would know how many punishments Lieut. M. 
inflicted, he could never be sure how many men Lieut. N. let off. 
It may be that the exercising of penal powers, &c., would force the 
growth of experience of the youthful subaltern, but forced plants are 
not famed for endurance, and are apt to exhaust the soil in which they 
grow. There is, or used to be, an old saw painted on the walls of the 
dining hall of the Koyal Military Academy, which ran as follows :— 
" Through obedience learn to command.” The rank and file would 
probably say that the duration of an officer's service as a subaltern 
was none too long for him to learn obedience. 
I cannot see how the ability to give 3 days' C.B., could make us take 
more interest in our men than most of us do at present; and as to our 
being brought more into contact with them, and so checking the want 
of judgment and the inconsiderateness of the young non-commissioned 
officers, it must be remembered that these latter, having very little more 
service than the men, must find it very difficult to assert their authority, 
and that the least sign of distrust on the part of the officers will make 
it quite impossible for them to do so. The same moral can be pointed 
here as in the story of Col. Kaulbars of the German Captain who lived 
far from the barracks for fear of interfering with his subordinates. 
11. As to whether the commanding officers would be relieved of any 
work by the system proposed, it is for them to say if they think so ; but 
it seems necessary to bear in mind, that there is an unanimous opinion 
in all armies that the battery is the sole unit for artillery. When large 
masses are manoeuvring, a collection of such units is advantageous, 
but subdivisions of them should only be used when circumstances 
render any other course impossible. If we recognise this principle, 
it does not appear advisable to train the officers of a battery to think 
only of their own divisions, or the men to look only to their own 
subordinate commanders for guidance. There is a great difference 
between being occasionally intrusted with authority, and always enjoying 
independence. Safety lies in neither extreme. 
12. It is with great diffidence that one ventures to say anything in 
favour of the employment of a class of instructors which “ has been com 
demned by nearly everyone whose opinion is really worth having,” but 
there would be no pleasure in expressing an opinion if everyone agreed 
with it, so I trust to be forgiven for trying to express mine on the 
question of (< specialists.” 
The manufacture of soldiers somewhat resembles all other manrn 
factures, and in all of these the secret of cheapness (i,e, 3 the saving of 
