The Times of last Saturday publishes in large type a
letter from a military correspondent on military officers' expenses. This writer says that the cost of living in a regiment has been greatly increased by the reduction in the number of officers, that the minimum cost of food is now 4e. a day (273 per annum), and that consequently the minimum allowance from his family to a subaltern must be 2120 a year. This, he says, will do in a well-managed regiment, but many regiments are not well managed, while in a few the Colonels encourage extravagance in order to confine service to the rich. In the cavalry matters are much worse, it being im- possible for an officer to get along without a private allow- ance of 000 a year, so that there is some difficulty in filling up vacant commissions. The writer would forbid extrava- gance severely, give rations and mess allowance as in the Navy, but not, as we understand him, increase junior officers' pay. We are rather doubtful about that, thinking that if an officer could live on his pay, or his pay and 21 a week, new and valuable classes would be induced to seek commissions, while promotions from the ranks would become more possible. It is, however, a change of tone that is first of all required. It should be observed that the present system in no way protects the "aristocratic character of the Army," the rich tailor's son meeting his expenses much more easily than the son of the cadet of a great house.
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