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COMMENDED ESSAY, 1892 . 
The subaltern of to-day is somewhat apt to underrate the advan¬ 
tages which he enjoys, and it is good for him to know the sort of 
experience that his seniors went through. Thus he will learn to appre¬ 
ciate the higher aims which lie before him, and more thoroughly 
understand how loyally his senior officers, as a rule, have adopted the 
new teaching. 
The Major. 
When the present Majors of batteries joined the Regiment they 
found it permeated with the spirit of caste, so graphically described 
in “ Prince Kraft's 7th Letter.” 1 Their divisions were composed of 
old soldiers, many of them decorated with the Crimean or Mutiny 
medals, some with both. Such N.-C. officers and men were more 
adapted to teach a young officer than he to instruct them. The men 
who joined or left a battery in the course of a year might often be 
numbered on the fingers. Under such circumstances, it was difficult 
for subalterns to learn the rudiments of their profession. A ruinous 
standard of barrack-square efficiency was general, and every one was 
satisfied if this standard was outwardly attained at inspections. With 
such a system the importance of details essential to success in war is 
apt to be forgotten ; and the natural indolence of the majority gradually 
lowers the conception of the amount of work which can be extracted 
from the men. The wave of German military views, which passed 
over England in 1871, contained sufficient volume of truth to sweep 
away most of the ideas these officers had been taught to cherish. One 
relic alone was left them of the old creed. It is still acknowledged 
that precision of drill is the easiest method of securing perfect personal 
control to the commander. But, apart from routine drill, a system of 
instruction had to be invented. The results of individual energy and 
initiative soon became apparent, but there was no uniformity in these 
results in different batteries. In 1872 came the introduction of short 
service, and the obligation it entails on every officer of teaching his 
men. Successive systems of instruction began to appear in the 
official manuals, lectures became more and more general, and now 
there is almost a danger lest training become too artificial. 
On an emergency a complicated system will break down. Efficiency 
is a healthy growth, attaining real vitality in the open not in the forcing- 
house. 
Mr. Darwin originated the remark, which has been endorsed by all 
military historians, that “mutual confidence” is the one quality com¬ 
mon to the discipline of the present and the past. It is only where 
this exists, between the commander and all ranks, that Fire Discipline 
can attain perfection; and to ensure it he must have a real interest in 
the efficiency of his battery. Lord Roberts says, “ When artillery 
officers think of the tremendous effect their guns may produce in the 
day of battle, provided their men have been taught to make the most 
of them, it is difficult to imagine their being satisfied with anything 
short of absolute proficiency.” 2 
1 “ Letters on Artillery.” 
2 Speech, at Delhi, 1892. 
