THE TALE OF A BELLOWS.

Grey River Argus, Issue 74, 3 July 1866, Page 3

THE TALE OF A BELLOWS.

■. (From !-the Examiner.) To show the House of Commons how business is done in ; the army, and correspondencl multiplied, Captain "Vivkn gave the history of an application for a bellows, and the course it had to-run through various channels for nearly six weeks: — • ; " After a lengthy tsorresppncleDce the local commissariat officer at the CuiTagh camp, on the 12th ( Eebruary, obtained 'authQrity from^ the \^ar Deparfcmeatjto indent on the Royal Engineer JDepartment fbv a pair of bellows, urgently required iii the camp,?ai]'d- applied for by them to the district Engineer Officer. On - the 1 6th -? the ,-. 'district Engineer officer api)lied to the military store officer at' Dublin ;° on the 19 thy the military store office at Dublin informed the Royal Engineer officer at Dublin that he could supply, the required bellows on requisition.: On the 20th the -JJoyal Engineer officer in Dublin forwarded this information to the Royal Engineer officer at the Curragh ; and on the 21st the local Engineer officer at the Curragh replied that he had 110 form of requisition. On the 22nd the ■local Engineer officer at the CuiTagh asked the local Commissariat officer if the proposed bellbws would dp ; on the 23rd the • local Cominissaiiat ' officer replied; " Yes." On the 24tlithe local Engineer .officer, informed the local Coirimissariat officer that he must apply to the Royal Engiueer officer, Dublin; and accordingly tlie.local Commissariat officer applied to Dublin. Tlie militaiy stores: officer at Dublin auswered that he . would supply .the bellows on an order from the War Office. The local Commissariat officer then produced an authority from the ■War, Office, and: read it to the local Engineer officer. . On the Ist of March the district Royal Engineer officer declined, to have anything to do -"with a ; service which was not brought to. his notice through ?he proper authorities, arid 1 the^ local Cdnnnis^ sariat officer referred the question to , thejCpmmissariatp officer in Dublin. On" Match' %*. the .Gommissariat Officer in Dublin feferrgd /the (.Question to 1 the Deputy Quartermaster-General at Dublin ; ? and/the ne,xt • day ; the Deputy Qiiarterniaster-General at. Dublin referred ilief requisiitipn to me Quai'ter-ma"ter-General, : Horse Guards. On the sth the Hprsq Guards referred to the War Office, and the War Office referred to the Cbmmandiri'g General-in-Chief, London. On the IStli the Commanding General-in-Chief asked the Director of Stoi'es to giye authority, which two days after was produced. The Director of- Stores theii stated that the Commissariat officer should include the bellows f4&^e annual estimate.; and 17fh, the Comfinsudi n g General-in-Chief wrote to the Horse^aj^ 8 an^ the Commissariat officer, Dubliri! N ** i^|te r a H tliis correspondence, on the 20tn N fecMlie Commissariat officer at the Cun^§n»J£2£i. still bellowing for his bellows. If such a ; large^ amount?, oft. correspondence was necessary in purchasing a pair of bellows, he asked igain what would be the issues in a case, emergency." Thirteen ofhcei's were ; employed inf this business of the bellows, • some of them' writing several letters on the subject.- '; pur army has more officers in • propertion to the men than.any other in the world, and can we wonder at the costly fact when we find thirteen officers doing in many days what ought to have been the business of two or, three in a few hours? If correspondence were simplified, and unnecessary checks discontinued, a reduction not inconsiderable would be "made in, the staff and its expenses. As st is, the country has tp pay many hands for chucking shuttlecocks to and fro, and it is miscalled business. ' •' "