This very grievous error, as it affects the half-pay officer whose necessities, perhaps, had compelled him to sell his half-pay commission, arises from mixing up and blending two items together that are, ipso facto, totally dissimilar and unconnected; viz. the regulated difference, and the value of their half-pay commissions. It has been determined, it seems, that the value of a captain's half-pay commission shall be 18007.; that of a lieutenant's 7001. But if the former, for example, has seven years ago accepted the difference of 4007. from an officer on half-pay for resigning his full pay, this is deducted from his 18007. and only 1400/. is paid to him by Government on giving up his commission, or half-pay annuity; while a captain, who was put on half-pay a month ago, but without receiving the difference, if he chooses to sell out gets 18007. for the very same amount of annuity for which the other got only 14007. Now a moment's consideration must make it plain, that the difference above alluded to has no earthly connection whatever with the value of the purchased annuity or commission, but was solely and exclusively a bona-fide consideration, given by one individual to another, for putting him in possession of a larger income than he had before; the receiver of the difference, on consideration, sacrificing for it a larger income, and accepting of a smaller. Upon what principle, therefore, call upon him to repay that for which he then gave perhaps, five, ten, or twelve years ago, more, much more, than the full value; at all events, full value! Yours, &c. HONESTUS. Duelling. MR. EDITOR,-I have a brother who, being a fine young man, (upwards of six feet one or two,) fancies that height is age, inches years; and though barely twenty years old, utterly, nay, unusually ignorant of the world; labouring in that respect under great disadvantages, never having, in fact, up to this moment, mixed in its great and busy scenes, lacking too the time and opportunity to make amends by study for his little progress as a boy at school, still conceives himself perfectly competent to propound the law on any given subject, no matter whether civil, political, or martial—“ All's one to him." The arguments of his seniors by years, and doubly, trebly so by experience-nay, facts known to all the world, all must give way to his opinions, backed by the vague authority of some magazine-" It must be true, because it is in print!" As, however, he gives a proof of sound sense, in placing implicit reliance on your Journal, (as, indeed, he well may, culled as its contents are from the rich stores of the very flower and chivalry of England's heroes,) and will take your opinion as decisive, will you be kind enough, in your next Number, to answer the following query. I say nothing of the false feeling of honour which dictates the course pursued in such cases, confining myself to the simple question, "What would be the course pursued by the other officers of a regiment, one of whose number (having entered the army since the peace, or not having had, in fact, an opportunity of putting his personal courage beyond question,) was to refuse a challenge sent to him in the ordinary way, and on any of the thousand and one causes which usually lead to such events? and in what situation would such officer find himself placed ?" Really, Sir, I am ashamed to put the question to you, known as it is to all the world, but one; yet, as the young gentleman has been rash enough to venture a considerable bet on it, if you will be kind enough to decide it, you will confer no inconsiderable obligation on Union Club House, Sept. 20th. Sir, your constant reader, S. S. We refer ourCorrespondent generally to our paper "On Duelling," of February last, and have no doubt his question will attract a particular reply. Coast Guard Service. MR. EDITOR, I have just returned to town from the Isle of Thanet, and having by accident met with an old shipmate, an officer of the Revenue Coast-Guard, have obtained from him some information respecting the nature of his duties, and from their particularly arduous and unpleasant character, I was much surprised to learn the smallness of the emoluments arising from the situations. I also learned the existence of an absurd anomaly, emanating, too, from an officer, (the Comptroller-General,) than whom there is not a more amiable man, nor one of sounder judgment and discretion in His Majesty's service; namely, requiring the lieutenant, on occasions of inspection, to "fall in" on the right of their parties, and salute with drawn swords à la militaire, in the undress uniforms, be it remembered, of the NAVY ; while the inspecting officer, Capt. Bowles, or his deputy, Commander Sparshott, (as the case may be,) is in plain clothes. I complain of this as an anomaly, and contrary to the practice of the service, to oblige officers while in the undress of their own profession, although holding civil appointments, to salute their superiors under any circumstances, in any other way than that which has been the immemorial custom of the navy, by taking off the hat. By inserting these few remarks in an early Number of your Journal, you will much oblige, U. S. Club, Aug. 17th. AN OLD CAPTAIN. Remarks on the duties of the Purveyor's Department. MR. EDITOR,-In your Journal of the months of June and September relative to the duties of Purveyors, several remarks claim attention-and the details of those duties are generally accurately defined in your Number for September-although several of importance are omitted. The office and duties of Purveyor are in general little understood or duly appreciated; those only who have witnessed their importance on service, can form a proper estimate of their value. When it is considered how important those duties are, combining various qualifications, complex and difficult in their nature, requiring judgment in the arrangements, and in the selection and distribution of the deputies, attendants, &c. and the most indefatigable exertions in superintending and directing the multifarious duties of his department, as well as promptitude in the execution of orders,-the greatest attention and humanity to the sick and wounded, and a competent knowledge of accounts, it will appear evident that such knowledge can only be acquired after long experience and great attention;-ought not the Purveyor then to be placed in a situation corresponding with the important office he fills? Surely of the greatest importance, when the comforts, and in a great measure the recovery, of many thousands depend on his exertions and the due performance of his duties; so far, however, from any encouragement having been given to this branch of the service, the Purveyors and Deputies are the only, or nearly the only, officers in the army whose pay has not been raised, or their situation improved for a century, whilst their allowances have been considerably reduced. The Purveyor has nothing to look forward to in the way of promotion or an increase of pay, and his present pay is totally inadequate, when the responsibility of his situation, and the importance of his duties are considered. In every other branch of the service the individual has something to stimulate his exertions and to reward his labours, either in the way of promotion, increase of pay after a certain Officers of the navy holding situations in the Coast-Guard Service, are ordered to wear the undress naval uniform of their respective ranks, and are nominated by the First Lord of the Admiralty. With an army in the field of 30,000 or 40,000 men, and probably 7000 or 8000 sick and wounded to provide for-this has happened in more instances than one. : period of service, or rank, by brevet or otherwise not so the Purveyorwhatever his merits, however arduous and important his duties, or whatever his length of service may have been, although he may have been twenty, thirty, or forty years in the department, served in unhealthy climates, and in nearly every quarter of the globe, the Purveyor, as to pay, rank, and allowances, is in the same situation as on his first appointment; although, probably, with a constitution impaired or ruined by the fatigues and exertions he has undergone in the faithful discharge of his duties. I am, yours, &c. If the titles of Purveyor and Deputy-Purveyor were abolished, and those of Commissary and Deputy-Commissary of Hospitals substituted, they would be more appropriate, and, I am informed, would assimilate with the same denomination of officers in the continental armies. J. W. Changes of Uniform. MR. EDITOR,-As the period of the Golden Age approaches when the Reform Bill will pass-when there will be no wars, no taxes-when finally the long-desired uniformity in dress of the army is to be strictly adhered to; when it will be scarcely possible to distinguish any one regiment or soldier from another-I am induced, through your pages, to offer to the authorities that be the following suggestions 1st, I would recommend a slight alteration with respect to the blue frockcoat, which is now more generally worn than any other dress; namely, to do away with the perfectly ridiculous and paltry looking gold twist which is worn as shoulder straps, and to substitute in their place a small pair of gilt scales, or gold lace straps with crescents, like those formerly worn by adjutants. An article of this kind would be very little additional expense, and, for the usefulness (if scales they would turn the edge of a sabre) as well as appearance, that little, I am confident, will be gladly defrayed by every officer in the service. The shoulder-belt never being used with the frock, the present gold string, besides its ugliness, is perfectly useless. * 2nd, After three changes of uniform in as many years, after officers have been put to the expense of so many different suits, and all for the sake of economy, I cannot but think it rather hard that we are obliged to give up our cap lines, which are decidedly the most ornamental and neatest part of the late dress; without these the cap looks most awkward and unfinished; and it is against the wish of every officer I ever heard speak upon the subject, that we should be deprived of them; nay, more, I know many officers who, having joined since the late order, have bought lines merely to take away the present bare appearance of the cap. Oct. 11th 1831. I am, Mr. Editor, AN INFANTRY OFFICER. The appearance of a regimental mess is at present truly laughable; in some you will see four, and in almost all three different uniforms, every one of which has within the last four years been strictly according to regulation, and none of which will be so after the 31st of next December; in fact, one of the late regulations had not come into complete force before it was superseded by another! I must here allude to a late attempt at saving the paltry sum of 2s. per man for altering soldiers' clothing. The clothing as now sent to regiments, ready made, would disfigure the Apollo Belvidere. I think it impossible if Lord Hill saw any regiment dressed thus, (as I have,) before their clothes had been altered by the men themselves, that he would permit the present regulation to remain in force a day. In my opinion, if the materials and a sealed pattern were sent down to each regiment, they could make them up, by their own tailors, equally cheap, and certainly much better than they are now, besides, in what I must call the humbug of the Clothing Board, there might be a considerable saving. EDITOR'S PORTFOLIO; OR NAVAL AND MILITARY REGISTER. AFFAIRS AT HOME AND ABROAD. -The Reform Bill has been thrown out by the House of Lords, on the question of the Second Reading, by a majority of FORTY ONE. On Thursday the 20th ult. His Majesty in person prorogued the Parliament to the 22nd of November. Some outrages, excited by incendiaries who degrade the Public Press by the sordid and criminal abuse of its salutary power, have disgraced the metropolis and a few spots, of turbulent notoriety, in the country. In every instance the rioters have been of the lowest and most profligate class. In FRANCE the hereditary principle of the Peerage has been abolished by a vote of the Chamber of Deputies, but the measure has yet to pass the Peers. The external attitude of that country continues threatening, while her internal condition shows symptoms of progressive deterioration. The capture of Modlin by the Russians, and the dispersion or submission of the Polish forces which remained in arms after the surrender of Warsaw, have completed the subjugation of POLAND. The form of its future government is not yet decided. The question between HOLLAND and BELGIUM is, it is stated, about to be settled by their mutual acceptance of definitive propositions, suggested and imperatively enforced by the Conference of the Five Great Powers. The cholera, an enemy more formidable than the sword, has been making rapid progress through the U. S. JOURN. No. 36. Nov. 1831 Continent, and threatens our own shores. WAR-OFFICE ECONOMY.-There is no class of men so proverbially and practically improvident as the soldier and sailor, whether commissioned or otherwise. Their means, in all ranks, being barely adequate to their support, while the scenes of their career are ever shifting, and their enjoyments and existence are alike precarious, the above result is readily accounted for. It therefore becomes an obvious and imperative duty on the part of those who govern and administer the finances of the Army and Navy, to interpose in the genuine spirit of British administration, by protecting the members of those patriotic services from the consequences of their own habitual improvidence. To seize upon this foible in order to authorize the ruin, albeit voluntary, of distressed, though meritorious individuals, upon the plea of public expediency, is an unjust and ungenerous policy, unworthy of this great country. The contrary principle has in general been kept in view up to the present time, but we have reason to believe it is in danger of being departed from by the present Secretary-at-War. The commutation of soldiers' pensions for a small sum to defray the expense of their emigration, (forced, we may call it,) was a heartless expedient; though calculated, with certain safeguards for the pensioner's interest insisted on by friends of the soldier, to prove beneficial in some cases: but the operation of 2 D the measure has been so misunderstood, as well as clogged by illiberal and vexatious interpretations, that it has been productive of little else than deception and distress. dit of the army will be rashly sacrificed to the whisperings of vanity or presumption. NAVAL AND MILITARY LIBRARY AND MUSEUM.-This institution, our readers will be pleased to learn, has continued its steady progression during the past month. A little unexpected delay in preparing the Library, has, however, prevented its being opened so soon as was anticipated. The number of Subscribers has increased since the publication of our last Number, from 1270 to upwards of 1400, with more than 12007. (notwithstanding the smallness of subscription) in the Bankers' hands. Officers, pressed by sharp necessity, may have proposed to commute their life pensions (for wounds) for a few years' amount of the annuity; but would it be either generous or honest in the Secretary-at-War, to connive at a sacrifice by which the officer seeks to relieve his temporary distresses at the expense of his permanent means of existence ? Are the affairs of the War Department to be conducted by its Chief, for the time being, as though he were a public broker driving hard bargains with deserving veterans, broken down in bealth and means in the public service? and is it to be decreed by the ruthless fiat of a false economy, that the mutilated officer shall be finally driven to take refuge in a parish workhouse, for the logne of Stars; Margett's Astronomical Rotula for benefit of the nation? Sir Henry Parnell is doubtless well-intentioned; but he is pledged to theoretical experiments, is wholly inexperienced in the complicated claims and extensive concerns of the army, with which, from previous habits and party prejudices, he probably has little sympathy; and, moreover, is ambitious of making a figure as a financier, at their expense. The Breve!-to wit! Officially incompetent himself to judge as to the affairs and interests of the army, the Secretaryat-War does not, however, lack advisers, who kindly volunteer suggestions which have the single merit of not affecting the interests of those who offer them. Against such selfish and incapable meddling, we would guard Sir Henry Parnell, in whose integrity we have still too much confidence to anticipate that the claims and the cre dition to those published and circulatThe following contributions, in aded by the Committee in August, have been received. J. LIBRARY. Capt. Francis Brace-Traite de Géognosie par Lieut. Gen. Ainslie- Illustrations of the Anglo- Lieut. J. Ford, H. P. late 79th Regiment; Tyler on Military Law; Miss Caroline Herschel's Cata 600 years; J. Bird's Method of Constructing Mural Quadrants, quarto. Colonel James Tod, Hon. E. I. C. Service-Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (Himself the Author). Capt. William Maude, R.N.-M'Arthur's Life of Nelson. 2 vols. quarto. Lieut. Norman Campbell, 22nd Regiment-- naire des Sieges et Batailles. 6 vols. Capt. Francis Hawkins, 89th Regiment-Jomi Capt. Norman Campbell, C.B. R.N.--French Atlas, 1 vol. 4to.; Boyer's French Dictionary; Les Français; Geometrical Treatise of the Conic Sections, by Hamilton. Provinciales, 2 vols.; Dictionnaire des Verbes A moveable Planisphere; Drop of water magnified; Drawing of the Moon; Lord Nelson's handwriting in 1805; Plan of Planet Saturn; 6 French Lient. J. Ford, H.P. late 79th Regimont Plans of Actions and Campaigns. Capt. William Thain, 33rd Regiment --- Histoire des Guerres d'Italie, par Guicciardini, traduite en François par Chomedy, avec les Observations Politiques, Militaires, et Morales, da Sieur De la respecting the History of the English Army. By Francis Grose, Esq. F.A.S. 2 vols. 4to.; Institntions Militaires de Vegece. 1744; Essai General de Tactique, par Guibert. 2 vols. 8vo.; Hutton's Course of Mathematics. 3 vols. 8vo.; An Account, None. 2 vols. 8vo. 1593; Military Antiquities |