In case of the Knights leaving the army, after one and twenty years' service, the officers should be entitled to their full pay; the non-commissioned and privates to receive a pay proportionate to seven years' service more than they have actually served in their respective corps. N. W. A.

Sir,

ALLOWANCE OF A CLERK TO ADJUTANTS.

March 24th, 1813.

AS you were so obliging as to favour my sentiments with a place in a former number of your Panorama, relative to the allowances for lodgings, &c. &c. to officers; I beg for the same indulgence in giving publicity to some simple facts respecting the Adjutants of the army; a class of men, whose length of service, (in general) but particularly whose knowledge of the service, and exact performance of the various important duties with which they are entrusted, entitle them to every indulgence and remuneration that can consistently be given to them.

1st. That the Paymaster of every regiment has a serjeant to act as a clerk, and who is paid by the public.

2d. That the Surgeon of every regiment has also a serjeant to act as a clerk and hospital-serjeant, and who is paid by the public. Sd. That the Quarter-Master of every regiment has a serjeant to act as a clerk and quarter-master-serjeant, and who is paid by the public.

4th. That no adjutant of any regiment has a clerk of any description paid by the public.

True, it is customary to have a clerk employed by the adjutant from among the non-commissioned officers or privates of a regiment by the permission of the Commanding Officer, which indulgence is granted from necessity, as it is impossible the writing to be performed in that department could be accomplished by the Adjutant, unless that officer is totally withdrawn from the field and parade duties, and is constantly in his orderly room.-But notwithstanding this indulgence of employing a clerk, this person must be remunerated at the sole expense of the Adjutant himself; and who, after deducting income-tax, wear and tear of horse-flesh, and saddlery, &c. &c. from 8s. 6d. per day he can but ill afford this additional demand upon him.—It is well known that the writing in the orderlyroom is at least triple that of any in the other departments of a regiment.

MILES VETERANUS.

Sir,

MUTILATED OFFICERS.

Colchester, March 8, 1813.

PERMIT me to inquire, through the medium of the Military Panorama, from what cause it arises that the Spaniards have proved themselves inimical, and generally illiberal, to officers of the British army. The Portuguese government have granted honorary remuneration to officers who have been wounded in their country; but the Spanish government have shewn no such disposition. In the retreat of Sir John Moore through Spain, several British officers were highly distinguished, and several lost their limbs; yet the government of that country have done nothing, and indeed do not seem inclined to follow the honourable example shewn them by the Portuguese. A. M.

PROMOTIONS IN THE ROYAL HORSE GUARDS BLUE. To the Editor of the Military Panorama.

Sir, Freneyda, March 2d, 1813. I HAVE read in your work a statement relative to the late transactions in the regiment of which I have the honour to be a member, and I flatter myself that you will allow the following statement also to have a place in your valuable work, which is universally admired in this country; and if you continue to conduct it in the liberal and independent language with which you have commenced, the service will be much benefited therefrom.

In the year 1799 there was an augmentation of a troop to each regiment of Life Guards, and an additional Major also given to each. At this period there were two Supernumerary Majors, and both, therefore, claimed permanent rank according to the establishment or constitution of their regiments. The Colonels, Lords Harrington and Cathcart, were desirous of setting aside the two Supernumerary Majors, and each recommended the Senior Captain of their regiments to succeed to the Majorities. His Majesty at first gave his approbation to the same, but when it was sent to the Secretary at War, agreeably to the general custom with regard to the household troops, he, Mr. Wyndham, immediately represented to the King the impolicy of consenting to the recommendation, as it would subject the public to a continuation of the payment of two supernumerary Majors, which might be removed by the promotion taking place according to the regular establishment.-This representation had the desired effect.

At this period a Lieutenant-Colonel, Major, and additional troop, were added to the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards Blue: the eldest Captain of one of the regiments of Life Guards, in consequence of being disappointed of the rank which the King had been graciously pleased to intend for him, and being a Captain of much longer standing in the army than the eldest Captain in the Blues, at the suggestion of a friend that it would be a fair opportunity for him to memorial His Majesty for the additional Majority in the Blues, sent in a paper to that effect.-The reply of the King was, that, to His Majesty's recollection, he had never put any officer over the heads of officers of his household troops, and that it never was his intention to do so.

AN OFFICER OF THE ROYAL HORSE GUARDS BLUE.

CHARACTER OF THE AUSTRIAN TROOPS.

BY CAPT. T. H. COOPER.

THE German troops are slow in their attack, indifferent in battle, and slow in their retreats.-They leave behind them the most prisoners, because the French make their escape, and the Russians will suffer themselves to be killed rather than quit their post. Irresolute, heavy, and without spirit of union, they are inclined to surrender when alarmed on several points at once. Their usual cry is, "We are cut off." This report spreads like wild-fire, and the word is, "We must surrender." We have several instances of large bodies of Austrians having been taken prisoners by much smaller bodies of French troops, in mountainous districts, when small detachments made their appearance on different sides at the same time. On such occasions the Austrians see their error when it is too late to correct it. When the drum beats to arms to attack the enemy, the Austrian soldiers are frequently heard calling out, in a grumbling tone, "We have not yet cooked our victuals.” An Austrian soldier, before he can fight, must eat and drink regularly. The Austrian troops, therefore, are treated with a care which is not be found in other armies. But that these German troops might be excited to greater activity, has been proved by their campaigns in conjunction with the Russians. They never remained behind; and shewed the same perseverance, but were much slower in their movements. The case with the Hungarian regiments is entirely different: they are much livelier, and have a great deal of martial spirit, with a high sense of

national honour, and on that account will never lay aside their long pantaloons. Should any one give them boots, they would desert by hundreds to any enemy who would permit them to wear their favourite dress. Their officers are for the most part Hungarians. That they have a propensity to plundering cannot be denied. There are no better cavalry than the Hungarians. They ride as well as the Turks, and are disciplined in the same manner as those of the most civilized nations in Europe. The French cavalry are inferior to them; but the Russian approaches very near to them, and are capable of making head against them. There are no artillery-men better than the Austrians. This corps, by experience during long and difficult sieges of the strongest places in Europe, has been brought to the highest degree of perfection. To each gun is attached a fire-worker, and he knows his cannon as well as the Arab does his horse. Two hundred Austrian cannon will play the whole day without the least confusion, and never in vain. Seldom does the fire-worker fail in his object. All the sieges under Suwarrow were conducted by Austrian artillery-men. In a word, their etatmajor, or, etat des quartier-maitres, called in Russia their suite, is excellent. Men such as Chateler, Zach, and Weinrotter, do honour to their country. The last, as Lieutenant-Colonel, conducted the Russians through Switzerland. He was offered a commission in the Russian service, with the rank of Major-General, and had Alexander been on the throne, he would certainly have accepted it. His services were acknowledged in his own country, and he soon rose (a very rare instance in Austria) to be a Major-General.-Such is the respect paid to men of merit in this corps. Young men of condition are very averse to serve long in the lower ranks of superior officers. They endeavour, therefore, to get into the etat-major of this corps, and remain in it till they find an opportunity of returning to the army as officers on the Staff. The consequence of this is, that the Staff-officers are exceedingly well-informed men, and distinguish themselves very advantageously in the corps of superior officers.

MILITARY ESSAY.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUISITE IN HIM WHO WOULD ARRIVE AT DISTINCTION IN MILITARY CAPACITY.

By the Editor of the Military Mentor.

A

A SOLDIER who wishes to fulfil in a brilliant manner the duties of his station, in all the numerous occasions that offer themselves in a hot, long, and obstinate war, ought to know the methods of putting in a state of defence a church-yard, or church, a chateau, a village, a town: he ought also to know how to render these posts of so much consequence, that the enemy would not be able to attempt to dislodge him from them without being obliged to employ very superior forces; means very expensive, or very powerful, without having to fear the loss of a number of meu, and yet without being assured of the issue. It must not be forgotten that the art of defence does not consist only in knowing how to elevate a rampart or a parapet, in knowing how to dig a fosse, or form an abattis; it is essential to have a military coup d'œil, it must be exercised to know with rapidity when to seize the advantage that the ground furnishes. Fortified with these qualifications, the military observer will find that often each line of a field-work requires a relative direction, not only to the pieces which surround it, but also to the place upon which that work may be constructed, and to the adjacent soil.

He should be able to foresee on what side such a post would most easily be attacked; he should be able to avail himself of the different impediments which could be opposed to the enemy with success: thus he should know how to make good abattis, and banks across streams to cause inundations; he should know how to make, in convenient ground, subterraneous defences, to increase the difficulties of the attack of fortified posts and intrenchments. It is chiefly during peace that an officer, who wishes to get on in his profession, ought to learn all that we have just now said, so that he might be able to make use of it during the war; without that, he will oftentimes find himself in a situation as critical as perplexing. If, for example, the defence of a post was entrusted to him, with an order to maintain himself there absolutely, how much would he be embarrassed if he did not know how this post was to be fortified. What a feeble resistance would he make against the enemy, if he did not know what difficulties to throw in his way! and if he is at last forced as a man who deserves to be so, what will be said of his conduct? will not there be some who will accuse him of being deficient in his duty, and who will consider as a very bad excuse, the humiliating acknowledgment he will make to them of his ignorance? The love of his country, his attachment to arms, his own safety, and that of the detachment which is entrusted to him, the preservation of his honour, more precious to him than life, and lastly, that truth, established by innumerable examples, that a hundred men, well intrenched and posted according to rules, are better than a thousand that are in a bad position; all that, I say, proves how necessary it is for an officer to be thoroughly well acquainted with all we have been speaking of; and he ought the less to dispense with his application to it, since he can obtain it in a very little time, and with very little trouble.