5 JUNE 1875, Page 2

Three new Field-Marshals have been created. The first is the

Prince of Wales, and is unobjectionable, as the Army likes to be directly connected with the heir to the Throne. The other two creations are merely honours and rewards bestowed upon ex- cessively old officers,—Sir John Fitzgerald, who is 89, and the Marquis of Tweeddale, who is 88. Both are Peninsular veterans, and there is no objection to the decoration of either except this, that such a choice makes the grade of Field-Marshal almost meaningless. The rank should either be abolished or be reserved for Generals who have commanded a victorious army, and may by conceivable possibility command one again.