A GENTLEMAN'S CADET CORPS.
NOTHING is more evident than the deterioration of the recruits in the Line as to the matter of height. The new Guards are of a mould quite novel, and men or boys wearing red coats are seen in the streets almost undistingnishable from the Shoe-black Brigade. This deterioration causes vexation and apprehension to many per- sons who are not aware of the Founds on which it is very naturally explained. Some appear to imagine that all the tall men of the country are exhausted; or that tall men have ceased to have any ardour for the military career, notwithstanding the faot, that men of fair average height are seen around us in the streets and in society, and that there is no decline in the stature of youths offering for commissions. It should be remembered that these regiments of picked men that have dressed the head and front of the English Army have been the result of continued recruiting for many years, and of a constant selection from the body of the recruits, whereas the conditions upon which recruiting goes on at present are such as NOTHING is more evident than the deterioration of the recruits in the Line as to the matter of height. The new Guards are of a mould quite novel, and men or boys wearing red coats are seen in the streets almost undistingnishable from the Shoe-black Brigade. This deterioration causes vexation and apprehension to many per- sons who are not aware of the Founds on which it is very naturally explained. Some appear to imagine that all the tall men of the country are exhausted; or that tall men have ceased to have any ardour for the military career, notwithstanding the faot, that men of fair average height are seen around us in the streets and in society, and that there is no decline in the stature of youths offering for commissions. It should be remembered that these regiments of picked men that have dressed the head and front of the English Army have been the result of continued recruiting for many years, and of a constant selection from the body of the recruits, whereas the conditions upon which recruiting goes on at present are such as almost to necessitate the adoption of an inferior standard. The men must be within a limited range of age, particularly in the Militia, whence so many recruits for the Line are customarily drawn. The bounty offered is to a great extent a delusion; a large part of it being absorbed in the equipment of the soldier, who receives a very scanty allowance in cash. While the class is narrowed therefore, by the standard of age, &c., the inducement offered is exceedingly meagre. In France there is no difficulty of this kind;
the conscription regularly bringing forward a given number of men, who must serve if they do not find substitutes. The cost of the bounty is there thrown upon the pocket of the private citizen; an arrangement suited, probably, to that country, but after all, imposing the ultimate expense upon the state, and in a form very unsuitable to our own customs. The limitation of the recruitment in this country is increased by its own moral effect: enlistment is thought "low "; and, coupled with the scarcity of commissions allowed to men in the ranks, this circumstance has given a species of class degradation to the private soldier, which excludes men of a higher stamp from the ranks. Our experienced military corre- spondent Mr. Bryan Cooke, writing from Florence has suggested the plan which looks most promising for counteracting this $xcla- siveness—in the organization of a Gentleman Brigade.
There is no doubt that many young men of this country would gladly embrace a life of military adventure, with the prospect of promotion or at least personal distinction, if they could do so with- out the disagreeables if not the degradation arising from bad asso- ciations. As it is, young men of good condition will occa- sionally go into the ranks, and serve well; but if they could be relieved from the necessity of consorting with " riff-raff," the instances would cease to be exceptional. The plan pro- posed by our correspondent also contemplates a method of holding a strict control over the cadets, without enforcing corporal punishment, which would, of course, totally exclude from the ranks any but the lowest class or the most daring spirits. He would require each recruit to lodge a regulated sum of money for the contingent purchase of his discharge, so that in case of serious misconduct, otherwise subjecting the cadet to corporal punishment, he would be able on the spot to compound for that species of castigation by buying himself out. It would also be necessary, even within the range of gentlemen cadets, to take security for two things,—in the first place, for some degree of gradation, so that no recruit could find himself associated with men whose means considerably exceeded his own ; and on the other hand, for some degree of restraint, so that no examples of luxury or irregularity could be introduced by the bribing in- fluences of cash. Better be without gentlemen cadets, if they could only set an example of riot and good living to the Army. Another correspondent suggests that those who could command 201. but under 301. should be in one battalion, those who have 301. but under 40/. in another, and so forth up to 601. or more. But even the wealthiest should be obliged to conform to the regu- lations; and probably while on service or in barracks they should be content with a regulated dietary, &e.
Let us for a moment glance at some of the most obvious conse- quences following from the mere existence of such a corps. In the first place, it would stamp the life of a private soldier with a certain rank; and those who desire to get into the corps but who lack the means would probably resort to the regular army as a pis aller ; and the recently-increased pay would aid this proba- bility, by rendering even the ranks more "respectable.' If such a corps were established, public opinion would insist that officers of our land forces should be selected from it according to their individual good behaviour : and here, therefore; would be a fine school in which the officer could pass through the ranks, without the really disagreeable necessity entailed by any such process in the existing system,—a necessity far worse at present for the English officer than it is for the French. The plan, however, suggests the means of employing the capital now swamped in purchasing commissions, so as to realize the maximum of benefit out of the fund. In short, the corps would constitute a practical school for officers, and at the same time it would form a body of men worth infinitely more than any number of Foreign Legions collected from the refuse of alien armies, sometimes at the expense of great vexation to allies, with whom we run the risk of embroiling ourselves.
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